THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


7 


A   RECONSTRUCTED  MARRIAGE 


OTHER  BOOKS  BY  MRS.  BARR 

JAN  VEDDER'S  WIFE 

THE  Bow  OF  ORANGE  RIBBON 

REMEMBER  THE  ALAMO 

FRIEND  OLIVIA 

A  ROSE  OF  A  HUNDRED  LEAVES 

THE  LION'S  WHELP 

THE  BLACK  SHILLING 

THE  BELLE  OF  BOWLING  GREEN 

CECILIA'S  LOVERS 

THE  HEART  OF  JESSY  LAURIE 

THE  STRAWBERRY  HANDKERCHIEF 

THE  HANDS  OF  COMPULSION 
THE  HOUSE  ON  CHERRY  STREET 


A  RECONSTRUCTED 
MARRIAGE 


BY 

AMELIA    E.    BARR 


FRONTISPIECE    BY 

Z.    P.   NIKOLAKI 


NEW  YORK 

DODD,  MEAD   AND   COMPANY 
1910 


Copyright,  1910,  by 
DODD,   MEAD  AND  COMPANY 


Published,  October,  1910 


THE    QUI1N    &    BOOEN 

RAHWAV,    N. 


PS 


TO 
MY  DEAR   FRIEND 

MRS.    HARRY    LEE 

THIS  BOOK 
IS  AFFECTIONATELY  DEDICATED 


r 
' 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I  A  PROSPECTIVE  MOTHER-IN-LAW       ...  i 

II     PREPARING  FOR  THE  BRIDE 34 

III  THE  BRIDE'S  HOMECOMING 73 

IV  FOES  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD 101 

V     BAD  AT  BEST 123 

VI  THE  NAMING  OF  THE  CHILD     .     .     .     .  156 

VII    THE  NEW  CHRISTINA 176 

VIII     A  RUNAWAY  BRIDE 206 

IX    THE  LAST  STRAW 238 

X  THEODORA  MAKES  A  NEW  LIFE    ....  258 

XI     CHRISTINA  AND  ISABEL 284 

XII  ROBERT  CAMPBELL  GOES  WOOING     .      .      .  323 

XIII  THE  RECONSTRUCTED  MARRIAGE      .     .     .  359 


A    RECONSTRUCTED 
MARRIAGE 

CHAPTER  I 

A   PROSPECTIVE   MOTHER-IN-LAW 

As  it  was  Saturday  morning,  Mrs.  Traquair  Camp 
bell  was  examining  her  weekly  accounts  and  clear 
ing  off  her  week's  correspondence;  for  she  found  it 
necessary  to  her  enjoyment  of  the  Sabbath  Day  that 
her  mind  should  be  free  from  all  worldly  obliga 
tions.  This  was  one  of  the  inviolable  laws  of  Tra 
quair  House,  enunciated  so  frequently  and  so  posi 
tively  by  its  mistress,  that  it  was  seldom  violated 
in  any  way. 

It  was  therefore  with  fear  and  uncertainty  that 
Miss  Campbell  ventured  to  break  this  rule,  and  to 
open  softly  the  door  of  her  mother's  room.  No 
notice  was  taken  of  the  intruder  for  a  few  moments, 
but  her  presence  proving  disastrous  to  the  total  of 
a  line  of  figures  which  Mrs.  Campbell  was  adding, 
she  looked  up  with  visible  annoyance  and  asked: 

"What  do  you  want,  Isabel?  You  are  disturb 
ing  me  very  much,  and  you  know  it." 

"  I  beg  pardon,  mother,  but  I  think  the  occasion 
will  excuse  me." 

"What  is  the  occasion?" 


2  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  There  is  something  in  my  brother's  room  that 
I  feel  sure  you  ought  to  see." 

"  Could  you  not  have  waited  until  I  had  finished 
my  work  here?  " 

"  No,  mother.  It  is  Saturday,  and  Robert  may 
be  home  by  an  early  train.  I  think  he  will,  for 
he  is  apparently  going  to  England." 

"Going  to  England,  so  near  the  Sabbath?  Im 
possible!  What  set  your  thoughts  on  that  track?  " 

"His  valise  is  packed,  and  directed  to  Sheffield; 
but  I  think  he  will  stop  at  a  town  called  Kendal. 
He  may  go  to  Sheffield  afterwards,  of  course." 

"  Kendal!  Where  is  Kendal?  I  never  heard  of 
the  place.  What  do  you  know  about  it?" 

"  Nothing  at  all.  But  in  going  over  the  mail,  I 
noticed  that  four  letters  with  the  Kendal  post-office 
stamp  came  to  Robert  this  week.  They  were  all 
addressed  in  the  same  handwriting — a  woman's." 

"Isabel  Campbell!" 

"  It  is  the  truth,  mother." 

"  Why  did  you  not  name  this  singular  circum 
stance  before?  " 

"  It  was  not 'my  affair.  Robert  would  likely  have 
been  angry  at  my  noticing  his  letters.  I  have  no 
right  to  interfere  in  his  life.  You  have — if  it  seems 
best  to  do  so." 

"  Have  you  told  me  all?  " 

"  No,  mother." 

"What  else?" 

'  There  is  on  his  dressing  table,  loosely  folded  in 
tissue  paper,  an  exquisite  Bible." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  3 

"  Very  good.  Robert  cannot  have  The  Word  too 
exquisitely  bound." 

"  I  do  not  think  Robert  intends  this  copy  of  the 
Word  for  his  own  use.  No,  indeed!  " 

"Why  should  you  think  different?" 

"  It  is  bound  in  purple  velvet.  The  corner  pieces 
are  of  gold,  and  a  little  gold  plate  on  the  cover  has 
engraved  upon  it  the  word  Theodora.  Can  you 
imagine  Robert  Traquair  Campbell  using  a  Bible 
like  that?  It  would  be  remarked  by  every  one  in 
the  church.  I  am  sure  of  it." 

Mrs.  Campbell  had  dropped  her  pencil  and  had 
quite  forgotten  her  accounts  and  letters.  Her  hard, 
handsome  face  was  flushed  with  anger,  her  tawny- 
colored  eyes  full  of  calculating  mischief,  as  she  de 
manded  with  scornful  passion : 

"What  is  your  opinion,  Isabel?" 

"  I  can  only  have  one  opinion,  mother.  You 
know  on  what  occasion  a  young  man  gives  such  a 
Bible.  I  am  compelled  to  believe  that  Robert  is 
engaged  to  marry  some  woman  called  Theodora,  who 
lives  probably  at  Kendal." 

"He  can  not!  He  shall  not!  He  must  marry 
Jane  Dalkeith, — Jane,  and  no  other  woman.  I  will 
not  permit  him  to  bring  a  stranger  here,  and  an 
Englishwoman  is  out  of  all  consideration.  Theo 
dora,  indeed!  Theodora!  "  and  she  flung  the  three 
words  from  her  with  a  scorn  no  language  could 
transcribe. 

"  It  is  not  a  Scotch  name,  mother.  I  never  knew 
any  one  called  Theodora." 


4  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"Scotch?  the  idea!  Does  it  sound  like  Scotch? 
No,  not  a  letter  of  it.  There  were  never  any  Theo 
doras  among  the  Traquairs,  or  the  Campbells,  and 
I  will  not  have  any.  Robert  will  find  that  out  very 
quickly.  Why,  Isabel,  Honor  is  before  Love,  and 
Honor  compels  Robert  to  marry  Jane  Dalkeith.  Her 
father  saved  Robert's  father  from  utter  ruin,  and 
I  believe  Jane  holds  some  claim  yet  upon  the  Camp 
bell  furnaces.  It  has  always  been  understood  that 
Robert  and  Jane  would  marry,  and  I  am  sure  the 
poor,  dear  girl  loves  Robert." 

"  I  do  not  believe,  mother,  that  Jane  could  love 
any  one  but  herself;  and  I  feel  sure  that  if  the  Camp 
bells  owed  her  money,  she  would  have  collected  it 
long  ago.  Why  do  you  not  ask  Robert  about  the 
money?  He  will  know  if  anything  is  owing." 

"  Because  Scotch  men  resent  women  asking  ques 
tions  about  their  business.  They  will  not  answer 
them  truly;  often  they  will  not  answer  them  at  all." 

"  Ask  Jane  Dalkeith  herself." 

"  Indeed,  I  will  not.  When  you  are  as  old  as  I 
am,  you  will  have  learned  to  let  sleeping  dogs  lie." 

"  Will  you  go  and  look  at  the  Bible?  " 

"It  is  not  likely  I  will  be  so  foolish.  Surely  you 
do  not  require  to  be  told  that  Robert  left  it  there 
for  that  purpose.  He  has  his  defence  ready  on  the 
supposition  that  I  will  ask  him  about  this  Theodora. 
On  the  contrary,  he  shall  bring  the  whole  tale  to  me, 
beginning  and  end,  and  I  shall  make  the  telling  of 
it  as  difficult  and  disagreeable  as  possible." 

"  I  am  afraid  I  have  interfered  with  your  Satur- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  5 

day's  duties,  mother;  but  I  thought  you  ought  to 
know." 

"  As  mother  and  mistress  I  ought  to  know  all  that 
concerns  either  the  family  or  Traquair  House.  I 
will  now  finish  my  examinations  and  correspondence. 
And  Isabel,  when  Robert  comes  home,  ask  him  no 
questions,  and  give  him  no  hint  as  to  what  has  been 
discovered.  I  am  very  angry  at  him.  He  ought  to 
have  told  me  about  the  woman  at  the  very  begin 
ning  of  the  affair;  and  I  should  have  put  a  stop  to 
it  at  once.  It  might  have  been  more  easily  managed 
then  than  it  will  be  now." 

"  Can  you  put  a  stop  to  it  at  all,  mother?  " 

"  Can  I  put  a  stop  to  it?"  she  cried  scornfully. 
"I  can,  and  I  will!" 

"  Robert  is  a  very  determined  man." 

"  And  I  am  a  very  positive  woman.  At  the  last 
and  the  long,  in  any  dispute,  the  woman  wins." 

"  Sometimes  the  man  wins." 

"  Nonsense !  If  he  does  win  now  and  then,  it  is 
always  a  barren  victory.  He  loses  more  than  he 
gains." 

"  I  don't  wish  to  discourage  you,  mother,  but  Rob 
ert  is  gey  stubborn,  and  I  feel  sure  that  in  this  case 
he  will  take  his  own  way,  and  no  other  person's 
way." 

"  I  desire  you  not  to  contradict  me,  Isabel."  She 
turned  to  her  papers,  lifted  her  pencil,  and  to  all 
appearance  was  entirely  occupied  by  her  bills  and 
letters.  Isabel  gave  her  one  strange,  inexplicable 
look  ere  she  left  the  room,  shutting  the  door  this 


6  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

time  without  regard  to  noise  and  with  something 
very  like  temper. 

In  the  corridor  she  hesitated,  standing  with  one 
foot  ready  to  descend  the  stairs,  but  urged  by  a 
variety  of  feelings  to  take  the  upward  flight  which 
led  to  her  own  and  her  sister  Christina's  rooms.  At 
present  she  was  "  out "  with  Christina,  and  they  had 
not  spoken  to  each  other,  when  alone,  for  three  days. 
But  now  the  pleasure  of  having  something  new  and 
unusual  to  tell,  the  desire  to  talk  it  over,  and  per 
haps  also  a  modest  little  wish  to  be  friends  with  her 
sister,  who  was  her  chief  confidant  and  ally,  in 
duced  her  to  seek  Christina  in  her  room. 

She  knocked  gently  at  the  door,  and  Christina  said 
in  an  imperative  voice,  "  Come  in."  She  thought 
it  was  one  of  the  maids,  and  Christina  wasted  no 
politeness  on  any  one,  unless  manifestly  to  her  own 
interest  or  pleasure.  But  Isabel  understood  the  curt 
permission  was  not  intended  for  her,  and,  opening  the 
door,  went  into  the  room.  Christina,  who  was  read 
ing,  lifted  her  eyes  and  then  dropped  them  again 
to  the  book.  For  she  was  amazed  at  her  sister's 
visit,  and  knew  not  what  to  say,  priority  of  birth 
being  in  English  and  Scotch  families  of  some  con 
sequence.  In  their  numerous  disagreements  Chris 
tina  had  never  expected  Isabel  to  make  the  first  ad 
vances  towards  reconciliation.  Almost  without  ex 
ception  she  had  been  the  one  to  apologize,  and  she 
had  been  thinking  about  ending  their  present  trouble 
when  Isabel  visited  her. 

For  a  few  minutes  she  was  undecided,  but  as  Isa- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  7 

bel  took  a  comfortable  chair  and  was  evidently  going 
to  remain,  Christina  realized  that  her  elder  sister 
had  made  a  silent  advance,  and  that  she  was  expected 
to  speak  first.  So  she  laid  down  her  book,  and  push 
ing  a  stool  under  Isabel's  feet,  said  in  a  fretful,  wor 
ried  voice : 

"  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,  sister.  I  have  been 
very  unhappy  without  your  company.  You  know  I 
have  no  friend  but  you.  I  am  sorry  I  spoke  rudely 
to  you.  Forgive  me !  " 

"  Christina,  we  are  the  world  to  each  other.  No 
one  else  seems  to  care  anything  about  us,  and  it  is 
foolish  to  quarrel." 

"  It  was  my  fault,  Isabel.  I  ought  to  have  known 
you  were  not  wearing  my  collar  intentionally." 

"Why  should  I?  I  have  plenty  of  collars  of 
my  own.  But  we  will  not  go  into  explanations.  It 
is  better  to  agree  to  forget  the  circumstance." 

"  Life  is  so  lonely  without  you,  and  our  little 
chats  with  each  other  are  the  only  pleasure  I  have. 
I  wonder  if  there  is,  in  all  Glasgow,  a  house  so  dull 
as  this  house  is." 

"  It  will  soon  be  busy  and  gay  enough.  Things 
are  going  to  be  very  different  in  Traquair  House. 
They  may  not  effect  our  lives  much — it  is  too  late 
for  that,  Christina — but  we  shall  have  the  fun  of 
watching  the  rows  there  are  sure  to  be  with  mother. 
Bring  your  chair  near  to  me.  I  have  a  great  secret 
to  tell  you." 

As  they  sat  down  together  it  was  impossible  to 
avoid  noticing  how  much  they  resembled  each  other 


8  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

personally.  Nature  had  intended  both  of  them  to 
be  beautiful,  but  their  obtuse,  grieved  faces  had  been 
marred  in  early  years  by  the  disappointments,  sor 
rows,  and  tragic  mistakes  of  the  children  of  long 
ago ;  and  later  by  their  pathetic  acquiescence  in  their 
ill-assorted  fates,  and  the  cruel  certainty  of  youth 
gone  forever,  without  the  knowledge  of  youth's  de 
lights.  Isabel  was  now  thirty-three  years  old,  and 
Christina  twenty-eight,  and  on  their  dark  faces,  and 
in  their  sombre,  black  eyes,  there  was  a  resentful 
gloom;  the  shadow  of  lives  that  felt  themselves  to 
be  blighted  beyond  the  power  of  any  good  fortune 
to  redeem. 

The  two  sisters  had  lost  hope  early,  and  for  this 
weakness  they  were  partly  excusable,  since  they  had 
the  most  crushing  and  unsympathetic  of  mothers. 
Mrs.  Campbell  was  a  woman  of  iron  constitution, 
iron  nerves,  and  principles  of  steel.  She  was  never 
sick,  and  she  was  angry  if  her  children  were  sick; 
she  met  every  trouble  with  fight,  she  was  contemp 
tuous  to  those  who  wept;  she  was  never  weary,  but 
she  made  life  a  burden  to  all  under  her  sway. 

In  another  way  their  father  had  been  still  more 
unfortunate  to  them.  Intensely  vain  and  arrogant, 
he  had  inherited  a  large  business  which  he  had  not 
had  the  ability  or  the  intelligence  to  manage.  When 
he  had  nearly  ruined  it,  the  generosity  of  a  distant 
relative — jealous  for  the  honor  of  the  name — came 
to  the  rescue;  but  he  placed  over  all  other  authority 
a  manager  who  knew  what  he  was  doing,  and  who 
was  amenable  to  advice.  Then  Traquair  Campbell, 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  9 

unwilling  to  acknowledge  any  superior,  became  a 
semi-invalid;  and  retired  to  a  seclusion  which  had 
no  other  duty  than  the  indulgence  of  his  every  whim 
and  desire,  making  his  two  daughters  the  handmaids 
of  his  idle,  self-centred  hours.  Year  after  year  this 
slavery  continued,  and  their  youth,  beauty,  and  edu 
cation,  their  hopes,  pleasures,  and  even  their  friends, 
were  all  demanded  in  sacrifice  to  that  dreadful  in 
carnation  of  Self,  who  made  filial  duty  his  claim  on 
them.  It  was  scarcely  two  years  since  they  had  been 
emancipated  by  his  death,  and  the  terror  of  the  past 
and  the  shadow  of  it  was  yet  over  them. 

Such  treatment  would  have  soured  even  good  dis 
positions,  but  the  nature  of  both  these  girls  was  as 
awry  by  inheritance,  as  their  destiny  in  regard  to 
parental  influence  and  environment  had  been  tragic 
ally  unfortunate.  Only  the  loftiest  or  the  sweetest 
of  spirits  could  have  dominated  the  evil  influences 
by  which  they  were  surrounded,  and  turned  them 
into  healthy  and  happy  ones.  And  neither  Isabel 
nor  Christina  knew  the  uplifting  of  a  lofty  ideal, 
nor  yet  the  gentle  power  of  the  soft  word  and  the 
loving  smile. 

Sitting  close  together  and  moved  by  the  same  feel 
ings,  their  physical  resemblance  was  remarkable.  As 
before  said,  Nature  had  intended  them  to  be  beau 
tiful.  Their  features  were  regular,  their  hair  abun 
dant,  their  eyes  dark  and  well  formed,  their  figures 
tall  and  slender,  but  they  lacked  those  small  acces 
sories  to  beauty  without  which  it  appears  crude  and 
undeveloped.  Their  faces  were  dull  and  uninterest- 


io  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

ing  for  want  of  that  interior  light  of  the  soul  and 
intellect  without  which  "  the  human  face  divine  "  is 
not  divine — is  indeed  only  flesh  and  blood.  Their 
abundant  hair  was  badly  cared  for,  and  not  becom 
ingly  arranged;  their  figures,  in  spite  of  tight  lacing, 
badly  managed  and  ungracefully  clothed;  their  eyes, 
though  dark  and  long-lashed,  carried  no  illumination 
and  were  only  expressive  of  evil  or  bitter  emotions; 
they  knew  not  either  the  languors  or  the  sweet  lights 
of  love  or  pity.  Isabel  and  Christina  had  slipped 
about  sick  rooms  too  much;  and  they  had  been  too 
little  in  the  busy  world  to  estimate  themselves  by 
comparison  with  others,  and  so  find  out  their  defi 
ciencies. 

This  morning  their  likeness  to  each  other  was 
accentuated  by  the  fact  that  they  were  dressed  ex 
actly  alike  in  dark  brown  merino,  with  a  narrow 
band  of  white  linen  round  their  throats.  Each  had 
fastened  the  linen  band  with  a  gold  brooch  of  the 
same  pattern,  and  both  wore  a  small  Swiss  watch 
pinned  on  her  plain,  tight  waist. 

Isabel  reclined  in  her  chair,  and  as  she  knew  all 
there  was  to  know  at  present,  a  faint  smile  of  satis 
faction  was  on  her  face.  Christina  sat  upright,  with 
an  almost  childish  expression  of  expectation. 

"What  do  you  know,  Isabel?"  she  asked  im 
patiently.  "  How,  or  why,  are  things  going  to  be 
different  in  Traquair  House?  " 

"  Because  there  is  to  be  a  marriage  in  the  family." 

"A  marriage!  Is  it  mother?  Old  lawyer  Gait 
has  been  very  attentive  lately." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  n 

"  No,  it  is  not  mother." 

"Then  it  is  Robert?" 

Isabel  nodded  assent. 

Christina's  eyes  filled  with  a  dull,  angry  glow,  and 
there  were  tears  in  her  voice,  as  she  cried : 

"  If  that  is  so,  Isabel,  I  will  leave  Traquair  House. 
I  will  not  live  with  Jane  Dalkeith.  She  is  worse 
than  mother.  She  would  count  every  mouthful  we 
ate,  and  make  remarks  as  nasty  as  herself." 

"  Exactly.  That  would  be  Jane's  way;  but  I  am 
led  to  believe  Robert  will  never  marry  Jane  Dal 
keith." 

"  Who  then  is  he  going  to  marry?  I  never  heard 
of  Robert  paying  attention  to  any  girl." 

"  I  have  found  out  the  person  he  is  paying  atten 
tion  to." 

"Who  is  it,  Isabel?  Tell  me.  I  will  never  men 
tion  the  circumstance." 

"  Her  name  is  Theodora." 

"  What  a  queer  name — Miss  Theodora.  Do  you 
know,  it  sounds  like  a  Christian  name;  it  surely  can 
not  be  a  surname." 

"  You  are  right.    I  do  not  know  her  surname." 

"  How  did  you  find  it  out — I  mean  Robert's  love 
affair?" 

Isabel  described  the  discovery  of  the  velvet-bound 
Bible  while  Christina  listened  with  greedy  interest. 
"  You  know,  Christina,"  she  added,  "  that  a  young 
man  on  his  engagement  always  gives  the  girl  a 
Bible." 

"  Yes,  I  know;  even  servant  girls  get  a  Bible  when 


12  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

they  are  engaged.  Our  Maggie  and  Kitty  did;  they 
showed  them  to  me.  Do  the  men  swear  their  love 
and  promises  on  them?  " 

"  I  should  not  wonder.  If  so,  a  great  many  are 
soon  forsworn !  " 

"  Is  that  all  you  know,  Isabel?  " 

"  Four  times  this  week  she  has  written  to  Robert. 
I  saw  the  letters  in  the  mail." 

"Love  letters,  I  suppose?" 

"  No  doubt  of  it." 

"  How  immodest !  Do  you  know  where  she 
lives?" 

"At  a  town  called  Kendal." 

"  I  never  heard  of  the  place.  Is  it  near  Mother- 
well?  Robert  often  goes  to  Motherwell." 

"  It  is  in  England." 

"  Oh,  Isabel,  you  frighten  me !  An  Englishwoman ! 
Whatever  will  mother  say?  How  could  Robert 
think  of  such  a  dreadful  thing !  What  shall  we  do?  " 

"  I  see  no  occasion  for  us  either  to  say  or  to  do. 
There  will  be  some  grand  set-tos  between  mother  and 
Robert.  We  may  get  some  amusement  out  of  them." 

"  Mother  will  insist  on  Robert  giving  up  the  Eng 
lishwoman.  She  will  make  him  do  it." 

"  I  do  not  think  she  will  be  able.  Mind  what  I 
say." 

"  Robert  has  been  under  mother  all  his  life." 

''  That  is  so,  but  he  will  make  a  stand  about  this 
Theodora,  and  mother  will  have  to  give  in.  He  is 
now  master  of  the  works,  and  you  will  see  that  he 
will  be  master  of  the  house  also.  He  will  take  pos- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  13 

session  of  himself,  and  everything  else.  I  fancy  we 
shall  all  find  more  changes  than  we  can  imagine." 

"  I  don't  care  if  we  do !  Anything  for  a  change. 
I  am  almost  weary  of  my  life.  Nothing  ever  hap 
pens  in  it." 

"  Plenty  will  happen  soon.  Robert  has  a  way  of 
his  own,  and  that  will  be  seen  and  heard  tell  of." 

"  He  will  not  dare  to  counter  mother  very  much. 
She  will  talk  strict  and  positive,  and  hold  her  head 
as  high  as  a  hen  drinking  water.  You  know  how  she 
talks  and  acts." 

"  I  know  also  how  Robert  will  take  her  talking. 
I  have  seen  Robert's  way  twice  lately." 

"What  is  his  way?" 

"  A  dour,  cold  silence,  worse  than  any  words — a 
silence  that  minds  you  of  a  black  frost." 

Having  finished  her  story  Isabel  looked  at  her 
watch,  and  said :  "  I'll  be  going  now,  Christina,  and 
you  can  think  over  what  is  coming.  We  be  to  con 
sider  ourselves  in  any  change.  I  am  almost  sure 
Robert  will  be  home  to-day  at  one  o'clock,  for  if  I 
am  not  mistaken,  it  will  be  the  Caledonian  Railway 
Station  at  three  o'clock.  That  train  will  land  him 
in  Kendal  about  eight  o'clock,  just  in  time  to  drink 
a  cup  of  tea  with  Theodora,  and  have  a  stroll  after 
it.  There  is  a  full  moon  to-night." 

"  How  did  you  find  out  about  Kendal?  " 

"  Bradshaw;  I  suppose  he  knows." 

"  Of  course,  but  it  will  be  late  Saturday  night 
when  Robert  arrives,  and  surely  he  will  not  think  of 
making  love  so  near  the  Sabbath  Day.  I  would  not 


14  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

believe  that  of  him,  however  much  he  likes  Theo 
dora." 

"  A  handsome  young  Master  of  Iron  Works  can 
make  love  any  day  he  pleases;  even  Scotchwomen 
would  listen  gladly  to  what  he  had  to  say.  I  think 
I  would  myself." 

"  I  would,  but  it  might  be  wrong,  Isabel." 

"  I  don't  believe  it  would;  anyway  I  would  risk  it." 

"So  would  I;  but  neither  of  us  will  be  led  into 
the  temptation." 

"  I  fear  not.  Now  I  will  be  stepping  downstairs. 
I  have  no  more  to  say  at  present  and  I  should  not 
like  to  miss  Robert." 

"  We  are  friends  again,  Isabel?" 

"  We  are  aye  friends,  Christina.  Whiles,  there  is 
a  shadow  between  us,  but  it  is  only  a  shadow — noth 
ing  to  it  but  what  a  word  puts  right.  There  is  the 
lunch  bell." 

"  I  had  no  idea  it  was  so  late." 

"  Let  us  go  down  together.  I  hate  the  servants 
to  be  whispering  and  snickering  anent  our  little  ter- 
rivees." 

They  had  scarcely  seated  themselves  at  the  table 
when  Robert  entered  the  room.  He  was  a  typical 
Scot  of  his  order — tall,  blonde,  and  very  erect.  His 
eyes  were  his  most  noticeable  feature;  they  were 
modern  eyes  with  that  steely  point  of  electric  light 
in  them  never  seen  in  the  older  time.  The  lids, 
drawn  horizontally  over  them,  spoke  for  the  man's 
acuteness  and  dexterity  of  mind,  and  perhaps  also 
for  his  superior  cunning.  He  was  arrogant  in  man- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  15 

ner,  a  trait  either  inherited  or  assumed  from  his 
mother.  In  disposition  he  was  kindly  disposed  to 
all  who  had  claims  on  him,  but  these  claims  required 
to  be  brought  to  his  notice,  for  he  did  not  volun 
tarily  seek  after  them.  He  certainly  had  humanity 
of  feeling,  but  of  the  delicacies  and  small  considera 
tions  of  life  he  was  very  ignorant. 

As  yet  he  was  commonplace,  because  nothing  had 
happened  to  him.  He  had  neither  lost  money,  nor 
broken  down  in  health,  nor  been  unfairly  treated  or 
unjustly  blamed.  He  had  never  known  the  want  of 
money,  nor  the  necessity  for  work;  he  had  lost  noth 
ing  by  death  and  was  only  beginning  to  gain  by 
loving.  In  the  eyes  of  all  who  knew  him  his  con 
duct  was  blameless.  He  was  very  righteous,  and  a 
great  stickler  for  morality  and  all  respectable  con 
ventions;  so  much  so,  that  even  if  he  should  sin,  it 
would  be  done  with  a  certain  decorum.  But  spirit 
ually  his  soul  lived  in  a  lane — the  narrow  lane  of  a 
bigoted  Calvinism. 

This  morning  he  was  in  high  spirits,  and  inclined 
to  be  unusually  talkative.  But  it  was  not  until  the 
meal  was  nearly  over  that  he  said:  "There  will 
be  a  new  preacher  in  our  church  to-morrow  morn 
ing.  I  am  sorry  I  shall  not  be  able  to  hear  him. 
Dr.  Robertson  says  he  has  a  wonderful  gift  in  ex 
pounding  the  Word." 

"When  did  you  see  the  doctor?"  asked  Mrs. 
Campbell. 

"  This  morning.  He  called  at  my  office  on  a  little 
matter  of  business." 


16  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  And  why  will  you  not  hear  the  new  preacher?  " 

"  I  am  going  to  England  by  the  three  o'clock 
train,  mother." 

At  this  answer  Isabel  looked  at  Christina,  and 
Mrs.  Campbell  said:  "I  suppose  you  are  going  to 
Sheffield?" 

"  Yes,  I  shall  go  to  Sheffield." 

'  You  go  there  a  great  deal." 

"  It  belongs  to  my  duty  to  go  there." 

With  these  words  he  suddenly  became — not  ex 
actly  cross — but  reserved  and  ungracious.  His 
mother's  words  had  betrayed  her.  As  soon  as  she 
remarked  on  the  frequency  of  his  visits  to  Sheffield, 
he  knew  that  she  was  aware  of  the  facts  that  she  had 
positively  asserted  she  would  not  name,  and  he  di 
vined  her  intention  to  put  him  in  the  position  of  one 
who  confesses  a  fault  or  acknowledges  a  weakness. 
He  retired  immediately  into  the  fortress  of  his  manly 
superiority.  He  was  not  going  to  be  put  to  cate 
chism  by  a  cabal  of  women,  so  he  hastily  finished 
his  lunch  and  rose  from  the  table. 

"When  will  you  return,  Robert?"  asked  his 
mother. 

"  In  a  few  days.  You  had  better  give  liberally 
to  the  church  collection  to-morrow — paper  or  gold 
— silver  from  you  will  be  remarked  on."  He  opened 
the  door  to  these  words,  and,  turning  a  moment, 
said  "  good-bye  "  with  a  glance  which  included  every 
one  in  the  room. 

Silence  followed  his  exit.  Mrs.  Campbell  cut  her 
veal  chop  into  minute  strips,  which  she  did  not  in- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  17 

tend  to  eat;  Isabel  crumbled  her  bread  on  her  plate, 
lifted  her  scornful  eyes  a  moment,  and  then  began 
to  fold  her  napkin;  Christina  took  the  opportunity 
to  help  herself  to  another  tartlet.  It  was  an  uncom 
fortable  pause,  not  to  be  relieved  until  Mrs.  Camp 
bell  chose  to  speak  or  rise.  She  continued  the  pur 
poseless  cutting  of  her  food,  until  Isabel's  patience 
was  worn  out,  and  she  asked :  "  Shall  I  ring  the  bell, 
mother?" 

"  No,  I  have  not  finished  my  lunch;  you  can  safely 
bide  my  time.  Christina,  pass  me  a  tart." 

"  Take  two,  mother.  McNab  makes  them  smaller 
every  day.  There  is  only  a  mouthful  in  two  of 
them." 

Mrs.  Campbell  took  no  notice  of  the  criticism. 

"  Isabel,"  she  said,  "  what  do  you  think  of  Rob 
ert's  behavior?  " 

"  Do  you  mean  the  sudden  change  in  his  man 
ner?" 

"Yes." 

"  He  had  his  own  '  because  '  for  it.  I  do  not 
rightly  comprehend  what  it  could  be,  unless  he 
suspected  from  your  remark  that  you  had  seen  the 
Bible,  and  were  trying  to  lure  him  on  to  talk  of 
Theodora." 

"  That  is  uncommonly  likely,  but  I'm  not  caring 
if  he  did." 

"  Robert  is  very  shrewd,  and  he  sees  through 
people  as  if  they  were  made  of  glass." 

"  If  he  is  going  to  marry  the  girl,  why 
should  he  object  to  tell  us  about  her?  Is  she 


1 8  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

too   good  to   talk  about?     Such  perfect  unreason 
ableness  !  " 

"  He  wished  to  tell  us  in  his  own  time,  and  way, 
and  thought  a  plot  had  been  laid  to  force  his  con 
fidence.  Robert  Campbell  is  a  very  suspicious  man. 
He  has  a  bad  temper  too.  It  is  always  near  at 
hand,  and  short  as  a  cat's  hair.  And  he  hates  a 


scene." 


"So  do  I.  Goodness  knows,  I  have  always  lifted 
myself  above  the  ordinary  of  quarrelling  and  disput 
ing.  Not  so,  Robert.  He  investigates  the  outs  and 
the  ins  of  everything,  and  argues  and  argues  about 
the  most  trifling  matter;  but  I  must  say,  he  is  al 
ways  in  the  wrong.  And  he  can  keep  his  confidence 
as  long  as  he  wants  to — the  longer  the  better.  I 
shall  never  give  him  another  opportunity." 

u  It  is  a  pity  you  offered  him  one  this  morning, 
mother." 

"  I  do  not  require  to  be  reminded,  Isabel.  The 
whole  affair,  as  it  stands,  is  an  utterly  unspeakable 
business.  We  will  let  it  alone  until  we  have  more 
facts,  and  more  light  given  us." 

"  Just  so,"  answered  Isabel. 

"  Mother,"  interrupted  Christina,  "  what  do 
you  say  about  the  new  preacher  and  the  col 
lection?  " 

"  I  know  nothing  about  the  new  preacher.  Dr. 
Robertson  has  aye  got  some  wonderfully  gifted 
tongue  in  his  pulpit,  and  all  just  to  beguile  the  siller 
out  o'  your  purse." 

"  Robert  said  we  were  not  to  give  silver." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  19 

"  You  will  each  of  you  give  a  silver  crown  piece; 
that,  and  not  a  bawbee  over  it.  As  for  myself,  I 
am  not  going  to  church  at  all  to-morrow.  I  am 
o'erfull  of  my  own  thoughts  and  trouble.  God  will 
excuse  me,  I  have  no  doubt,  for  He  knows  the  heart 
of  a  wounded  mother." 

"  Do  you  know  what  the  collection  is  for, 
mother?  " 

'  The  Foreign  Missionary  Fund.  I  have  always 
been  opposed  to  Foreign  Missions.  The  conversion 
of  the  heathen  is  in  God's  wise  foreknowledge,  and 
He  will  accomplish  it  in  His  own  way  and  time. 
It  is  not  clear  to  me  that  we  have  any  right  to  inter 
fere  with  His  plans." 

"  The  world  will  come  to  an  end  when  the  heathen 
are  converted,"  said  Christina.  "  Dr.  Robertson 
read  us  prophecies  to  prove  it,  and  then  will  occur 
the  Millennium,  and  the  second  coming  of " 

"  Hush,  Christina !  "  cried  Mrs.  Campbell  im 
patiently.  "  The  world  is  a  very  good  world,  and 
suits  me  well  enough  in  spite  of  Theodora,  and  the 
like  of  her.  I  hope  the  world  will  not  come  to  an 
end  while  I  live.  As  to  the  collection,  you  might 
each  of  you,  as  I  said  before,  give  a  silver  crown 
piece.  It  is  enough.  Young  people  are  not  expected 
to  give  extravagantly." 

"  We  are  not  young  people,  mother." 

"  You  are  not  married  people.  Women  without 
husbands  are  not  supposed  to  have  money  to  give 
away;  women  with  husbands  don't  often  have  it 
either,  poor  things !  " 


2O  A  Reconstructed  'Marriage 

"  The  greatest  of  all  calamities  is  to  be  born  a 
woman,"  said  Isabel,  bitterly. 

"  Especially  a  Scotchwoman,"  added  Mrs.  Camp 
bell.  "  I  have  heard  that  in  the  United  States  of 
America  women  are  very  honorably  treated.  Mrs. 
Oliphant,  who  is  from  New  York,  told  me  a  re 
spectable  man  always  consulted  his  wife  about  his 
business,  and  his  pleasure,  and  all  that  concerns  him, 
*  and  in  consequence,'  she  added,  '  they  are  happy  and 
prosperous.'  ' 

"  I  did  not  know  Mrs.  Oliphant  was  an  Amer 
ican,"  said  Isabel.  "  Mr.  Oliphant  comes  from  In 
verness." 

"Inverness  men  are  too  far  north  to  be  fools; 
and  Tom  Oliphant  soon  found  out  that  his  wife's 
judgment  and  good  sense  more  than  doubled  his 
working  capital.  People  say,  '  Tom  Oliphant  has 
been  lucky,'  and  so  he  has,  because  he  had  intelli 
gence  enough  to  take  his  wife's  advice.  But  this 
is  not  a  profitable  or  improving  conversation,  so  near 
the  Sabbath.  I  will  go  to  my  room  for  an  hour 
or  two,  girls.  I  have  much  to  think  about." 

She  left  them  with  an  air  of  despondency,  but  her 
daughters  knew  she  was  not  really  unhappy.  Some 
opposition  to  her  supremacy  she  foresaw,  but  the 
impending  struggle  interested  her.  She  was  not 
afraid  of  it  nor  yet  doubtful  of  its  result. 

"  I  know  my  own  son,  I  hope,"  she  whispered  to 
herself,  "  and  as  for  Theodora — that  for  Theo 
dora  !  "  And  she  snapped  her  fingers  scornfully  and 
defiantly. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  21 

Isabel  and  Christina  followed  their  mother,  taking 
the  long,  broad  stairway  with  much  slower  steps. 
Their  dull  faces,  listless  tread,  and  monotonous 
speech  were  in  remarkable  contrast  to  the  passionate 
eagerness  of  the  elder  woman,  whose  whole  body 
radiated  scorn  and  anger.  As  they  began  the  ascent, 
the  clock  struck  three,  and  Isabel  looked  at  Christina, 
who  answered  her  with  a  slight  movement  of  the 
head. 

"  He  is  just  leaving  the  Caledonian  Station,"  she 
said. 

"  For  Theodora,"  replied  Christina  bitterly. 

"  How  I  hate  that  name  already!  " 

"  And  the  girl  also,  Isabel?  " 

"  Yes,  the  girl  also.  What  has  she  to  do  in  our 
family?  The  Campbells  can  live  without  her — 
fine !  " 

"  I  wonder  if  Mrs.  Robertson  will  ask  us  to  meet 
this  new  minister." 

"  I  hope  not.  He  will  just  be  one  of  her  '  divinity 
lads,'  with  his  license  to  preach  fresh  in  his  pocket. 
They  are  all  of  them  poor  and  sickeningly  young. 
No  man  is  fit  to  marry  until  he  is  forty  years 
old,  unless  you  want  the  discipline  of  train 
ing  him." 

"  That  is  some  of  Mrs.  Oliphant's  talk,  Isabel." 

"  Mrs.  Oliphant  knows  what  she  is  talking  about, 
Christina." 

"  I  wonder  what  you  see  in  that  American !  " 

"  Everything  I  would  like  to  be — if  I  dared." 

"  Why  do  you  not  call  on  her,  then?  " 


22  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Mother  does  not  approve  either  of  her  conversa 
tion,  or  her  dress,  Christina." 

u  Her  dress  is  lovely.  I  wish  I  could  dress  like 
her." 

"  Christina  Campbell !  Her  neck  is  shockingly 
uncovered,  and  her  trains  half  fill  a  small  room. 
Mother  says  her  modesty  begins  at  her  feet — and 
stops  there;  but  she  is  certainly  very  clever,  and  her 
husband  waits  on  her  like  a  lover.  The  men  look 
at  him  as  if  they  thought  him  a  fool,  but  very  likely 
he  is  the  only  wise  man  among  them.  What  are  you 
going  to  do  this  afternoon?  " 

"  Dress  and  then  unpick  the  work  I  did  yesterday. 
It  is  all  wrong." 

"How  interesting!" 

"  As  much  so  as  anything  else.  I  should  like 
to  practise  a  little,  but  the  piano  is  closed  on  Satur 
days." 

"  That's  all  right.  You  always  had  a  knack  of 
playing  unsuitable  music  on  Saturdays." 

"  Mother  makes  two  Sundays  in  a  week.  It  isn't 
fair." 

By  this  time  they  were  on  the  corridor  of  the 
floor  on  which  their  rooms  were  situated,  and  as 
they  stood  at  the  door  of  Isabel's  room,  Christina 
said:  "At  eight  o'clock  to-night,  I  wish  you  would 
make  a  remark  about  Robert  being  with  Theodora." 

"  Make  it  yourself,  Christina." 
'  You  know  mother  pays  no  attention  to  anything 
I  say.     You  are  the  eldest." 

But  at  dinner  time  Mrs.  Campbell  was  in  a  mood 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  23 

so  gloomy,  that  even  Isabel  did  not  care  to  remind 
her  of  her  son's  delinquency.  She  did  not  speak 
during  dinner,  and  when  tea  was  served  she  rose 
from  the  sofa  with  a  sigh  so  portentous,  it  caused 
the  footman  to  stand  still  in  the  middle  of  the  draw 
ing-room  with  the  little  silver  kettle  steaming  in  his 
hand.  She  took  her  own  cup  with  a  sigh,  and  every 
time  she  lifted  it  or  put  it  down,  she  sighed  deeply. 
Very  soon  Isabel  began  to  sigh  also,  and  Christina 
ventured  timidly  to  express  her  feelings  in  the  same 
miserable  manner.  But  there  was  no  spoken  ex 
planation  of  these  mournful  symptoms,  unless  they 
typified  disapproval  and  sorrow  beyond  the  reach  of 
words. 

As  they  sat  thus  with  their  teacups  in  their  hands, 
a  little  clock  on  the  mantel  struck  eight.  Mrs. 
Campbell  cast  reproachful  eyes  upon  it.  "  It  re 
minds  me,  Isabel,"  she  sighed;  "you  said  eight 
o'clock,  I  think.  My  poor  son!  He  is  now  enter 
ing  the  gates  of  temptation." 

"  I  should  not  worry,  mother.  Robert  is  quite 
able  to  take  care  of  himself." 

Judging  from  the  happy  alacrity  with  which  Rob 
ert  left  the  train  at  Kendal  Station,  Isabel's  opinion 
was  well  founded.  He  had  no  doubts  about  the 
road  he  was  taking.  He  leaped  into  a  cab,  left  his 
valise  at  the  Crown  Inn,  and  then  rode  rapidly 
down  the  long  antique  street  to  a  pretty  cottage  stand 
ing  with  a  church,  or  chapel,  in  a  green  croft  sur 
rounded  by  poplar  trees. 

The  moon  was  full  in  the  east,  and  the  twilight 


24  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

still  lingered  in  the  west,  and  in  that  heavenly  gloam 
ing  a  woman  walked  lightly  towards  the  little  gate 
to  welcome  him.  She  had  a  tall,  elastic,  slender 
figure,  and  moved  with  swift,  graceful  steps;  her 
white  dress,  in  that  shadowy  mysterious  light,  giving 
her  an  ethereal  beauty  beyond  description. 

Robert  took  both  her  hands,  kissed  them  passion 
ately,  and  led  her  to  a  little  rustic  bench  under  the 
poplars.  For  a  few  moments  they  sat  there,  and 
he  filled  his  eyes  and  heart  with  her  loveliness.  Then 
they  went  into  the  cottage  and  he  found — as  Isabel 
had  predicted — that  tea  was  waiting  for  him.  Theo 
dora's  mother,  a  woman  of  scrupulous  neatness, 
simple  and  unadorned,  was  sitting  at  the  table;  she 
smiled  and  gave  him  her  hand,  and  he  sat  down 
beside  her. 

"How  is  Mr.  Newton?"  asked  Robert. 

"  He  is  in  his  study,"  she  answered.  "  He  will 
be  here  in  a  few  minutes.  He  does  not  wish  us  to 
wait  for  him." 

Theodora  was  at  Robert's  right  hand,  and  never 
before  had  he  thought  her  beauty  so  bewildering. 
It  had  the  magic  of  a  countenance  where  the  intellect 
was  of  a  high  order,  and  the  perfect  features  were 
the  portrait  of  a  pure,  translucent  soul  such  as  God 
loves.  Her  eyes  transfigured  her,  but  the  process 
was  not  intentional.  Her  sensitive  lips,  her  bright 
soft  smile,  her  joyful  heart,  the  fulness  of  her  health 
and  life,  all  these  things  were  entrancing,  and  made 
still  more  so,  by  an  unconsciousness  sincere  and 
natural  as  that  of  a  bird,  or  a  flower.  Robert  Camp- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  25 

bell  might  well  feel  his  unworthiness,  and  tremble 
lest  so  great  a  blessing  should  escape  him. 

In  a  short  time  Mr.  Newton  entered.  He  had 
a  tall,  intellectual  figure,  with  the  stoop  forward 
and  piercing  glance  of  one  straining  after  things  in 
visible.  A  singular  unearthliness  pervaded  the  whole 
man,  and  his  spare  form  appeared  to  be  the  suitable 
apparel  for  a  pure  and  exalted  spirit.  Prayer  was 
his  native  air.  He  prayed  even  in  his  dreams. 

After  some  inquiries  about  the  journey,  the  con 
versation  turned  naturally  to  the  subject  of  preach 
ing.  Robert  Campbell  remarked  that,  "  Sunday 
newspapers,  Sunday  magazines,  and  above  all  Sun 
day  trips  down  the  river,  had  in  Glasgow  greatly 
injured  Sabbath  observance  and  weakened  the  in 
fluence  of  the  pulpit." 

"No,  no,  sir!"  cried  the  preacher;  "books, 
papers,  amusements,  nothing,  can  take  the  place  of 
sermons.  The  face  to  face  element  is  indispensable. 
It  is  the  Word  made  Flesh  that  prevails.  As  soon  as 
a  real  preacher  appears,  what  crowds  follow  him ! 
Not  to  go  back  to  the  preachers  of  old,  consider  only 
Farrar,  Liddon,  Spurgeon,  Hyacinthe,  Lacordaire, 
and  the  great  American  Beecher.  Think  of  Spur 
geon  for  thirty  years  preaching  twice  every  Sunday 
to  six  thousand  souls !  " 

"  Then  you  believe,  sir,  the  influence  of  the  pulpit 
depends  on  the  preacher?" 

"  Yes.  If  there  is  a  good  intelligent  man  in  the 
pulpit,  there  will  be  good  intelligent  men  in  the 
pews." 


26  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Then  you  would  have  only  highly-cultured,  up- 
to-date  men  in  the  pulpit?" 

"  I  would  not  have  men  in  the  pulpit  whom  no 
one  would  think  of  listening  to,  out  of  the  pulpit. 
The  people  want  sermons  that  bring  the  pulpit  near 
to  the  hearth,  the  table,  and  the  counter;  sermons 
of  homely  fertility,  local  allusions,  and  personal  ap 
plication,  such  as  Christ  gave  them.  Remember  for 
a  moment  His  everyday  similes  and  parables:  the 
lighting  of  a  candle,  the  seeking  of  a  piece  of  lost 
silver,  the  search  for  the  lost  sheep.  That  is  one 
kind  of  sermon  that  always  draws  hearers.  There 
is  another  kind  that  is  irresistible  to  a  very  large 
number — sermons  full  of  the  spirit  of  Paul,  reaching 
out  to  the  Heavenly  Church  with  its  invisible  rites 
and  the  splendor  and  music  in  the  soul  of  the 
saints." 

There  was  a  silence,  for  the  preacher  was  pur 
suing  his  thoughts,  leaning  forward  with  a  burning 
look,  drinking  in  the  joy  of  his  own  spiritual  vision. 

Robert  broke  the  pause  by  saying:  "We  Scots 
are  used  to  logical  and  argumentative  discourses," 
but  he  spoke  in  a  much  lower  tone  than  was  usual 
to  him. 

"  Then  your  preachers  must  talk  to  their  congre 
gations  in  the  pulpit,  as  they  never  would  think  of 
talking  to  them  out  of  it." 

"  Well,  we  are  not  in  favor  of  mingling  sacred 
and  material  things;  we  believe  it  might  have  a 
tendency  to  bring  preaching  into  contempt." 

"  Mr.  Campbell,"  said  Newton,  "  preaching  is  a 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  27 

great  example  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest.  If  it 
could  have  been  killed  by  contempt,  or  inefficiency, 
or  ignorance,  or  too  much  book  learning,  or  by  any 
other  cause,  the  imbecile  sermons  preached  every 
Sunday  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land 
would  have  killed  it  long  ago." 

"  Do  you  then  consider  oratorical  power  a  neces 
sity  to  preaching,  sir?" 

"  No.  Other  power  can  take  its  place,  such  as 
great  piety,  great  sincerity,  the  simplicity  of  the  Gos 
pel,  or  the  personal  character  of  the  preacher.  I 
once  heard  Newman  preach.  He  was  far  from  what 
we  are  accustomed  to  call  eloquent.  One  long  sen 
tence  was  followed  by  another  equally  long,  sepa 
rated  by  a  sharp  fracture  like  the  utterance  of  a 
primitive  saint  or  martyr;  but  also  like  a  direct  mes 
sage  from  heaven.  And  never,  while  I  live,  shall 
I  forget  the  ecstasy  of  love  and  longing  with  which 
he  cried  out :  '  Oh  that  I  knew  where  to  find  Him ! 
that  I  might  come  into  His  presence !  '  The  church 
of  St.  Mary  was  crowded  with  young  men,  and  I 
believe  the  heart  of  every  one  present  burned  within 
him,  and  he  longed  as  I  did,  to  fall  down  and  kiss 
the  feet  of  Christ." 

Conversation  akin  to  this  sweetened  the  simple 
meal,  and  after  it  Robert  and  Theodora  walked  up 
and  down  the  pretty  lane  running  past  the  Chapel 
Croft.  It  had  a  hedge  of  sweet-briar  which  per 
fumed  the  warm,  still  air,  and  the  full  moon  made 
everything  beautiful,  and  Theodora  loveliest  of  all. 
And  though  it  was  near  the  Sabbath,  Robert  did  not 


28  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

hold  his  sisters'  creed  regarding  love-making  at  that 
time.  He  could  no  more  help  telling  Theodora  how 
beautiful  she  was,  and  how  he  loved  her  excellencies 
and  her  beauty,  than  he  could  help  breathing. 

It  was  no  new  tale.  He  had  told  it  to  her  ever 
since  they  first  met.  But  this  night  he  felt  he  must 
venture  all,  to  win  all.  The  light  on  her  face,  the 
sweet  gentleness  of  her  voice,  the  touch  of  her  hand 
on  his  arm,  all  these  things  urged  him  to  ask  that 
question,  which  if  asked  from  the  heart,  is  never 
forgotten.  Theodora  answered  it  with  a  shy  but 
loving  honesty.  The  little  word  which  made  all 
things  sure  was  softly  spoken,  and  then  the  purple 
Bible  was  given,  and  clasping  it  between  their  hands, 
they  made  over  it  their  solemnly  happy  promises  of 
eternal  love  and  faithfulness.  And  what  conversa 
tion  followed  is  not  to  be  written  down ;  it  was  every 
word  of  it  in  the  delicious,  stumbling  patois  of  love. 

The  next  morning  Robert  went  to  the  Methodist 
Chapel  with  Theodora,  but  his  Calvinism  was  in  no 
degree  prejudiced  by  the  Arminian  sermon,  for  he 
did  not  hear  a  word  of  it.  He  was  listening  to  the 
tale  of  love  in  his  heart,  Theodora  sat  at  his  side, 
and  he  would  not  have  changed  places  with  the  king 
on  his  throne.  Love  had  thrown  the  gates  of  life 
wide  open  for  the  Queen  of  Love  to  enter  in,  and 
for  the  first  time  in  all  his  thirty  years  of  existence, 
he  knew  what  it  was  to  be  joyful. 

He  left  Kendal  on  Monday  afternoon  and  went  to 
Sheffield,  and  did  much  profitable  business  there. 
And  he  was  so  gay  and  good-natured  that  many 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  29 

thought  they  had  misjudged  him  on  former  occa 
sions,  and  that  after  all  he  was  really  a  fine  fellow. 
Others  wondered  if  he  had  been  drinking,  and  no 
one  but  a  woman,  the  wife  of  one  of  his  business 
friends  with  whom  he  dined,  had  the  wit  to  see,  and 
to  say: 

"  The  man  is  in  love,  and  the  girl  has  accepted 
him — poor  thing!  " 

"Why  'poor  thing,'  Louise?" 

"  Because  he  will  get  out  of  love  some  day,  and 
then " 

"Then,  what?" 

"  He  will  be  the  old  Robert  Campbell,  a  little 
older,  a  little  more  selfish,  a  little  more  sure 
of  his  own  infallibility,  and  a  great  deal  worse- 
tempered." 

"  That  will  depend  on  the  girl,  Louise." 

"  And  on  circumstances !  Generally  speaking, 
women  may  write  themselves  circumstances'  '  most 
obedient  servants.'  They  can't  help  it." 

In  spite,  however,  of  the  disagreeable  journey  be 
tween  Sheffield  and  Glasgow,  Campbell  reached 
home  in  very  good  spirits.  It  was  then  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  and  he  resolved  to  sleep  a  couple 
of  hours  before  seeing  any  one.  He  thought  after 
dinner  would  be  as  good  a  time  as  any  for  the  com 
munication  he  had  to  make  to  his  family.  Some 
thing  of  a  blusterer  among  men,  he  feared  the  woman 
he  called  mother.  His  sisters  he  had  never  taken 
seriously,  but  he  remembered  they  would  come  close 
to  Theodora,  and  that  it  might  be  prudent  to  have 


3O  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

their  good  will.  They  certainly  could  make  things 
unpleasant  if  they  wished  to  do  so. 

He  had  always  been  able  to  sleep,  on  his  own 
order  to  sleep,  and  was  proud  of  the  circumstance; 
but  this  afternoon  he  had  somehow  lost  this  control. 
Sleep  would  not  obey  his  demand,  yet  he  lay  still, 
because  he  had  resolved  to  spend  two  hours  in  bed; 
nevertheless  he  rose  unrested,  and  decidedly  anxious. 

Dinner  was  served  at  seven,  and  he  entered  the 
dining-room  precisely  at  that  hour.  His  place  was 
prepared  for  him,  but  the  women  knew  better  than 
to  fret  him  with  exclamations,  or  with  inquiries  of 
any  kind.  He  was  permitted  to  take  his  chair  as 
silently  as  if  he  had  never  missed  a  meal  with  them. 
And  though  this  behavior  was  in  exact  accord  with 
his  own  desires,  it  did  not  suit  him  that  night.  He 
had  seen  a  different  kind  of  family  life  at  the  New- 
tons',  and  no  man  is  so  self-reliant  as  to  find  kind  in 
quiries  effusive  and  tiresome,  if  the  kindness  and  in 
terest  is  lavished  on  himself. 

He  was,  however,  good-tempered  enough  to  praise 
the  dinner,  and  to  say  "  Scotch  broth  and  good 
Scotch  collops  were  pleasant  changes  from  the  roast 
beef  of  old  England,  her  Yorkshire  pudding  and 
cherry  pies."  Mrs.  Campbell  smiled  graciously  at 
this  compliment,  and  answered : 

"  I  consider  collops,  Robert,  as  the  most  nutritive 
and  delicious  of  all  the  ways  in  which  beef  is  cooked. 
I  attribute  my  good  health  to  eating  them  so  regu 
larly,  and  though  Jepson  is  constantly  complaining 
of  McNab's  extravagance  and  ill-temper,  I  always 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  31 

say,  '  I  don't  care,  Jepson,  what  faults  McNab  has, 
she  can  cook  collops.'  Very  few  can  make  a  good 
dish  of  collops,  so  I  think  I  am  right." 

"  Tell  Jepson  I  say  he  is  to  let  McNab  alone. 
How  did  you  like  Dr.  Robertson's  last  protege?  " 

"  I  did  not  go  to  church.  I  was  not  well.  The 
girls  were  there." 

"  What  is  your  opinion,  Isabel?  " 

"  That  he  is  very  like  the  lave  of  the  doctor's 
wonderfuls.  Mrs.  Robertson  told  us,  he  had  aston 
ished  his  college  by  the  tenderness  of  his  conscience 
and  his  spirituality;  and  when  I  asked  her  the  par 
ticulars,  she  said  he  had  utterly  refused  to  study  the 
Latin  Grammar  because  it  contained  nothing  spirit 
ual.  Greek  and  Hebrew,  of  course,  for  they  were 
necessary  to  a  right  reading  of  the  Scriptures;  but 
the  Latin  Grammar  had  no  spiritual  relations  with 
literature  of  any  kind — far  from  it.  From  what 
he  had  been  told  it  was  both  idolatrous  and  immoral 
in  its  outcome.  I  suppose  he  is  from  Argyle,  for 
when  there  was  talk  of  expelling  him  for  not  con 
forming  to  rules,  he  wrote  to  the  Duke,  and  the 
great  Duke  stood  by  the  lad,  and  complimented  him 
on  his  tender  conscience,  and  the  like,  and  took  him 
under  his  own  protection — and  so  on.  Mrs.  Robert 
son  is  of  the  opinion,  he  may  come  to  be  the  Mod 
erator  of  the  Assembly  with  such  backing." 

"  And  what  do  you  think?  " 

"  I  would  not  wonder  if  he  did.  He  has  the 
conceit  for  anything,  and  he  is  a  black  Celt,  and 
very  likely  has  their  covetous  eye  and  greedy  heart. 


32  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

He  will  get  on,  no  doubt  of  it.  Why  not?  The 
great  Duke  at  his  back,  and  himself  always  pushing 
to  the  front." 

"  I  thought  he  was  nice-looking,"  said  Christina 
timidly.  "  His  fine  black  eyes  were  fairly  ablaze 
when  he  was  preaching." 

"  He  is  a  ferocious  Calvinist,"  added  Isabel. 

"  Well,  he  had  fine  eyes  and  was  good-looking," 
persisted  Christina. 

"  Good  looks  are  nothing,  Christina,"  said  Robert 
severely.  "  Beauty  is  not  a  moral  quality." 

"  People  who  are  good-looking  get  on  in  this 
world.  I  notice  that.  I  wish  I  was  bonnie." 

"  You  are  well  enough,  Christina,"  said  Mrs. 
Campbell.  "  If  you  cannot  talk  more  sensibly,  keep 
quiet." 

Christina  with  a  wronged,  grieved  look  subsided, 
and  Mrs.  Robertson's  reception  for  the  conscientious 
youth,  under  the  Argyle  protection,  furnished  the 
conversation  until  the  cloth  was  drawn,  and  the 
ladies  had  trifled  awhile  with  their  walnuts  and 
raisins.  Then  Campbell  rose,  drank  the  glass  of 
wine  that  had  been  standing  before  him,  and  said : 

"  I  am  going  to  the  library  to  smoke  half-an-hour. 
Then,  mother,  you  and  the  girls  will  join  me  there. 
I  have  something  important  to  tell  you." 

He  did  not  wait  for  an  answer,  and  his  mother 
was  furious  at  the  request.  "  Did  you  notice  his 
tone,  Isabel?"  she  inquired.  "His  words  sounded 
more  like  a  command  than  a  request.  It  is  adding 
insult  to  injury  to  summon  me  to  his  room — for  no- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  33 

body  goes  to  the  library  but  himself — to  hear  the 
thing  he  has  to  tell.      I  shall  go  to  my  own  room, 
and  he  can  come  there  and  tell  me  his  important, 
news." 

"  Mother,  why  not  send  for  him  to  return  here  in 
half-an-hour  ?  " 

This  proposal  was  acceptable,  and  in  half-an-hour 
Jepson  was  sent  with  "  Mrs.  Campbell's  compli 
ments,  and  she  hopes  Mr.  Campbell  will  return  to 
the  dining-room,  as  she  feels  unable  to  bear  the  smell 
of  tobacco  to-night." 

Mr.  Campbell  uttered  two  words  in  a  low  voice 
which  sounded  like  "  Confound  it!  "  but  he  bid  Jep 
son  tell  Mrs.  Campbell  "  he  would  return  to  the 
dining-room  immediately."  Upon  hearing  which, 
Mrs.  Campbell  took  a  reclining  position  on  the  sofa, 
and  on  her  face  there  was  the  satisfied,  close-mouthed 
smile  of  one  who  compliments  herself  on  winning 
the  first  move. 


CHAPTER  II 

PREPARING  FOR  THE  BRIDE 

CAMPBELL  returned  to  the  dining-room  pleasantly 
enough.  He  placed  his  chair  at  his  mother's  side, 
and  asked:  "Are  you  feeling  ill,  mother?" 

"  Rather,  Robert,  and  the  library  is  objectionable 
to  me,  since  you  began  to  smoke  there.  In  fact, 
I  have  long  been  prejudiced  against  the  room,  for 
your  father  had  a  trick  of  sending  for  me  to  come 
there,  whenever  he  was  compelled  to  tell  me  of  some 
misfortune.  Consequently,  I  have  associated  the  li 
brary  with  calamity,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  hear  your 
important  news  there." 

"Calamity?  No,  no!  My  news  is  altogether 
happy  and  delightful.  Mother,  I  am  going  to  be 
married  in  October,  to  the  loveliest  woman  in  the 
world,  and  she  is  as  good  and  clever  as  she  is  beau 
tiful." 

"  Married!     May  I  ask  after  the  lady's  name?  " 

"  Theodora  Newton.  Her  father  is  the  Metho 
dist  preacher  at  Kendal,  a  town  in  Westmoreland." 

"England?" 

"  Yes." 

"She  is  an  Englishwoman?" 

"Of  course!" 

"  I  might  have  known  it.  I  never  knew  a  Scotch 
woman  called  Theodora." 

34 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  35 

"  It  is  a  good  name  and  suits  her  to  perfection. 
Her  father  belongs  to  the  Northumberland  Newtons, 
a  fine  old  family." 

"  It  may  be.  I  never  heard  of  them.  You  say 
he  is  a  Methodist  preacher?  " 

"  A  remarkable  preacher.  I  heard  him  last  Sun 
day." 

"  Robert  Campbell !  Have  you  fairly  forgotten 
yourself?  Methodists  are  Arminians,  and  Arminians 
I  hold  in  utter  abomination,  as  every  good  Calvinist 
should." 

"  I  know  nothing  about  such  subjects.  This  gen 
eration,  mother,  is  getting  hold  of  more  tolerant 
ideas.  But  it  makes  no  matter  to  me  what  creed 
Theodora  believes  in.  I  should  love  her  just  the 
same  even  if  she  were  a  Roman  Catholic." 

"  A  man  in  love,  Robert,  suffers  from  a  temporary 
collapse  o'  good  sense.  But  when  I  hear  you  say 
things  like  that,  I  think  you  are  mad  entirely." 

"  No,  mother.  I  never  was  so  happy  in  all  my 
five  senses  as  I  am  now.  The  world  was  never  so 
beautiful,  and  life  never  so  desirable,  as  since  I  loved 
Theodora." 

"  Doubtless  you  think  she  is  a  nonsuch,  but  I  call 
your  case  one  of  lamentable  self-pleasing.  To  the 
lures  of  what  you  consider  a  beautiful  woman,  you 
are  sacrificing  your  noblest  feelings  and  traditions. 
Don't  deceive  yourself.  Was  there  not  in  all  Scot 
land  a  girl  of  your  own  race  and  faith,  good  enough 
for  you  to  marry?  " 

"  I  never  saw  one  I  wanted  to  marry." 


36  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  I  might  mention  Jane  Dalkeith." 
'You  need  not.     I  would  not  marry  Jane  if  she 
was  the  only  woman  in  the  world !  " 

'  You  prefer  above  all  others  an  Englishwoman 
and  a  Methodist?  " 

"  Decidedly." 

'  You  have  made  up  your  mind  to  marry  this 
doubly  objectionable  woman?" 

"  Positively,  some  time  next  October." 

"  And  what  is  to  become  of  me,  and  your  sis 
ters?" 

"  That  is  what  I  wish  to  understand/' 

"  I  have  my  dower-house  in  Saltcoats,  but  it  is 
small  and  uncomfortable.  If  I  go  there,  I  shall  have 
to  leave  the  Kirk  I  have  sat  in  for  thirty-seven  years, 
the  minister  who  is  dear  and  profitable  to  me,  all 
the  friends  I  have  in  the  world,  and  the  num 
erous " 

"  Mother,  I  wish  you  to  do  none  of  these  things. 
This  house  is  large  enough  for  us  all.  The  south 
half,  which  you  now  occupy,  you  can  retain  for  your 
self  and  my  sisters.  I  shall  refurnish,  as  Theodora 
desires,  the  northern  half,  and  if  you  will  continue 
the  management  of  the  house  and  table,  we  can  all 
surely  eat  in  our  present  dining-room.  There  will 
only  be  one  more  to  cater  for,  and  I  will  allow  lib 
erally  for  that  in  the  weekly  sum  for  your  expendi 
ture.  Theodora  is  no  housekeeper  and  does  not  pre 
tend  to  be.  She  is  immensely  clever  and  intellectual, 
and  has  been  a  professor  in  a  large  Methodist  College 
for  girls." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  37 

"  You  will  be  a  speculation  to  all  who  know  you." 

"  I  am  not  caring  a  penny  piece.  They  can  specu 
late  all  they  choose  to.  I  shall  meanwhile  be  ex 
tremely  indifferent.  I  have  come  at  last,  mother,  to 
understand  that  in  a  great  love  there  is  great  happi 
ness.  The  whole  soul  can  take  shelter  there." 

"  The  soul  takes  shelter  in  nothing  and  in  no  one 
related  to  this  earth.  That  is  some  of  last  Sabbath's 
teaching,  I  suppose." 

"  Yes,"  he  answered.  "  I  was  at  Theodora's  side 
all  last  Sunday  and  I  learned  this  lesson  in  the  sweet 
est  way  imaginable." 

"  I  wish  you  to  talk  modestly  before  your  sisters, 
and  I  do  not  like  to  hear  the  Sabbath  called 
Sunday." 

Robert  laughed  and  answered:  "  Well,  mother,  we 
have  so  little  sunshine  in  Scotland,  we  really  cannot 
speak  of  any  day  as  Sunday." 

"  You  may  laugh,  Robert,  but  such  things  are  re 
lated  to  spiritual  ordinances,  and  are  not  joking  mat 
ters." 

"  You  are  right,  mother.  Let  us  get  back  to  busi 
ness.  Will  you  accept  my  proposal,  or  do  you  pre 
fer  to  go  to  your  own  home  ?  " 

"  I  have  been  used  to  consider  this  bouse  my  own 
home,  for  thirty-seven  years,  and  if  I  leave  it,  I 
wonder  what  kind  of  housekeeping  will  go  on  in  it, 
with  a  college  woman  to  superintend  things?  You 
would  be  left  to  the  servant  lasses,  and  their  doings 
and  not-doings  would  be  enough  to  turn  my  hair 
gray." 


38  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Then,  mother,  you  will  stay  here,  as  I  propose?  " 

"  I  cannot  do  my  duty,  and  leave." 

"  I  thank  you,  mother."  Then,  turning  to  his 
sisters,  he  said:  "  I  hope  you  are  satisfied,  girls." 

"  There  is  no  other  course  for  us,"  answered  Isa 
bel.  "  We  must  stay  where  mother  stays.  It 
would  be  unkind  to  leave  her  now — when  you  are 
practically  leaving  her." 

"  I  hope  Theodora  will  be  nice,"  said  Christina. 
"  If  she  is,  we  may  be  happy." 

"  Do  your  best,  Christina,  to  make  all  pleasant, 
and  you  will  please  me  very  much,"  said  Robert. 
"  And,  Isabel,  I  am  not  leaving  any  of  you.  Mar 
riage  will  not  alter  me  in  regard  to  my  relationship 
to  mother,  yourself,  and  Christina.  I  promise  you 
that." 

"  If  you  intend  to  make  many  alterations  in  the 
house,  you  will  have  to  see  about  them  at  once," 
said  Mrs.  Campbell. 

"  To-morrow  I  shall  send  men  to  remove  all  the 
old  furniture  from  the  rooms  I  intend  to  decorate." 

"To  remove  it!      Where  to?" 

"  To  Bailey's  auction  rooms." 

"  Robert  Campbell !  Your  poor,  dear  father's 
rooms,  and  he  not  gone  two  years  yet !  " 

"  To-morrow  will  be  nine  days  short  of  the  two 
years.  Do  you  wish  his  rooms  to  remain  untouched 
for  nine  days  longer,  mother?  " 

"  It  is  no  matter.  Let  his  lounge,  and  his  chair 
and  his  bagatelle  board  go — let  all  go !  The  dead, 
as  well  as  the  living,  must  make  way  for  Theodora." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  39 

u  And,  mother,  as  the  hall  will  be  entirely  changed, 
and  there  will  be  much  traffic  through  it,  you  had 
better  remove  early  in  the  morning  those  huge  glass 
cases  of  impaled  insects  and  butterflies.  If  you  wish 
to  keep  them,  take  them  to  your  rooms;  if  not,  let 
them  go  to  Bailey's." 

"  They  may  as  well  go  with  the  rest.  Your  father 
valued  them  highly  in  this  life,  but " 

"  They  are  the  most  lugubrious,  sorrowful  objects. 
They  make  me  shudder.  How  could  any  one 
imagine  they  were  ornamental?  " 

"  Your  father  thought  them  to  be  very  curious 
and  instructive,  and  they  cost  a  great  deal  of  money." 

"  If  during  the  night  you  remember  any  changes 
you  would  like  to  make,  we  can  discuss  them  in  the 
morning,"  said  Robert. 

He  went  out  gaily,  and  as  he  closed  the  door,  be 
gan  to  sing: 

"  My  love  Is  like  a  red,  red  rose, 

That's  newly  blown  in  June; 
My  Love  is  like  a  melody, 

That's  sweetly  played  in  tune." 

Then  the  library  shut  in  the  singer  and  the  song> 
and  all  was  silence. 

Mrs.  Campbell  did  not  speak,  and  Isabel  looked 
at  her  with  a  kind  of  contemptuous  pity.  She 
thought  her  mother  had  but  lamely  defended  her 
position,  and  was  sure  she  could  have  done  it  more 
effectively.  Christina  was  simply  interested.  There 
was  really  something  going  to  happen,  and  as  far 


40  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

as  she  could  see,  the  change  in  the  house  would  bring 
other  changes  still  more  important.  She  was  satis 
fied,  and  she  looked  at  her  silent  mother  and  sister 
impatiently.  Why  did  they  not  say  something? 

At  length  Mrs.  Campbell  rose  from  the  sofa,  and 
began  to  walk  slowly  up  and  down  the  room,  and 
with  motion  came  speech. 

"  I  think,  Isabel,"  she  said,  "  I  signified  my 
opinions  and  desires  plainly  enough  to  your  brother." 

"  You  spoke  with  your  usual  wisdom  and  clearness, 
mother." 

"  Do  you  think  Robert  understood  that  I  consider 
this  house  my  house,  and  that  I  intend  to  be  mistress 
in  it?  Why,  girls,  your  father  made  me  mistress 
here  more  than  thirty-seven  years  ago.  That  ought 
to  be  enough  for  Robert." 

"  Robert  is  now  in  father's  place,"  said  Christina. 

"  Robert  cannot  take  from  me  what  your  father 
gave  me.  This  house  is  morally  mine,  and  always 
will  be,  while  I  choose  to  urge  my  claim.  I  am  not 
going  to  be  put  to  the  wall  by  two  lovesick  fools. 
No,  indeed!" 

"  I  think  Robert  showed  himself  very  wise  for  his 
own — and  Theodora's  interests;  and  he  would  refute 
your  moral  claim,  I  assure  you,  mother,  without  one 
qualm  of  conscience." 

"  Refute  me  1  He  might  as  well  try  to  refute 
the  Bass  rock.  A  mother  is  irrefutable,  Isabel ! 
But  his  conduct  will  necessitate  us  all  using  a  deal 
of  diplomacy.  You  do  not  require  to  be  told  why^ 
or  how,  at  the  present  time.  I  have  a  forecasting 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  41 

mind,  and  I  can  see  how  things  are  going  to  happen, 
but  just  now,  we  must  keep  a  calm  sound  in  all  our 
observes,  for  the  man  is  in  the  burning  fever  of  an 
uncontrollable  love,  and  clean  off  his  reason — on  the 
subject  of  that  Englishwoman,  he  is  mad  entirely." 

"  J  wonder  what  Dr.  Robertson,  and  the  Kirk,  and 
people  in  general,  will  say?" 

"  What  they  will  say  to  our  faces  is  untelling, 
Isabel;  what  they  will  say  when  we  are  not  bodily 
present,  it  is  easy  to  surmise.  Every  one  will  con 
sider  Robert  Campbell  totally  beyond  his  senses.  He 
is.  That  creature  in  a  place  called  Kendal,  has 
bewitched  him.  As  you  well  know,  the  prime  and 
notable  quality  of  Robert  Campbell  was,  that  he 
could  make  money,  and  especially  save  money.  He 
always,  in  this  respect,  reminded  me  of  his  grand 
father,  whom  every  one  called  '  Old  Economy.' 
Now,  what  is  he  doing?  Squandering  money  on 
every  hand!  Expensive  journeys  for  the  sole  end 
of  lovemaking,  expensive  presents  no  doubt,  half  of 
Traquair  House  redecorated  and  refurnished,  wed 
ding  expenses  coming  on,  honeymoon  expenses;  good 
ness  only  knows  what  else  will  be  emptying  the 
purse.  And  for  whom?  An  Englishwoman,  a 
Methodist,  a  poor  school-teacher.  She  will  neither 
be  to  hold  nor  to  bind  in  her  own  expenses ;  for  com 
ing  to  Traquair  House  will  be  to  her  like  entering 
a  superior  state  of  existence,  and  she  won't  know  how 
to  carry  herself  in  it.  We  may  take  that  to  be  a 
certainty.  But  I  think  I  can  teach  her!  Yes,  I 
think  I  can  teach  her!  " 


42  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"How  will  you  do  it,  mother?" 

"  I  cannot  exactly  specify  now.  She  will  give  me 
the  points,  and  opportunities;  and  correcting,  and 
advising,  come  most  effectively  from  the  passing 
events  of  daily  life.  As  I  said,  she  will  give  me 
plenty  of  occasions  or  I'm  no  judge  of  women — espe 
cially  brides." 

"  You  might  be  flustered  if  you  were  in  a  hurry 
and  unprepared,  mother,  and  miss  points  of  advan 
tage,  or  get  more  than  you  gave,  but  if  you  had  a 
plan  thought  out " 

"  No,  no,  Isabel !  I  have  lived  long  enough  to 
learn  the  wisdom  of  building  my  wall  with  the  stones 
I  find  at  the  foot  of  it." 

"  Many  a  sore  heart  the  poor  thing  will  get !  " 
said  Christina,  with  an  air  of  mock  pity. 

"  We  cannot  say  too  much  or  go  too  far,  while 
Robert  is  as  daft  in  love  as  he  is  at  present,"  con 
tinued  Mrs.  Campbell.  "  We  must  be  cautious,  and 
that  is  the  good  way — the  bit-by-bitness  is  what  tells ; 
now  a  look,  now  a  word,  now  a  hint,  there  a  suspi 
cion,  there  a  worriment,  there  a  hesitation  or  a 
doubt.  It  is  the  bit-by-bitness  tells !  This  is  a 
forgetful  world,  so  I  mention  this  fact  again.  And 
remember  also,  that  men  are  the  most  uncertain  part 
of  creation.  I  have  known  Robert  Campbell  thirty 
years  and  I  have  just  found  him  out.  He  is  a  curious 
creature,  is  Robert.  He  thinks  himself  steady  as 
the  hills,  but  in  reality  he  is  just  as  unstable  as  water. 
Good-night,  girls!  We  will  go  for  our  sleep  now, 
though  I'm  doubting  if  we  get  any." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  43 

"  Theodora  won't  keep  me  awake,"  said  Chris 
tina.  Isabel  did  not  speak  then,  but  as  they  stood 
a  moment  at  their  bedroom  doors,  she  said :  "  Mother 
is  not  to  be  trifled  with.  She  is  going  to  make  Theo 
dora  trouble  enough.  I'm  telling  you." 

"  I  don't  care  if  she  does !  Anything  for  a 
change.  Good-night !  " 

"  Good-night!     I  do  not  expect  to  sleep." 

"  Perfect  nonsense !  Why  should  you  keep  awake 
for  a  woman  in  Kendal?  Shut  your  eyes  and  for 
get  her.  Or  dream  that  she  brings  you  a  husband." 

"  I'll  do  no  such  thing.  That's  a  likely  story!  " 
and  the  two  doors  shut  softly  to  the  denial,  and 
Christina's  low  laugh  at  it. 

When  the  three  women  came  down  to  breakfast 
in  the  morning,  they  found  a  dozen  men  at  work 
dismantling  the  hall  and  the  rooms  on  the  north  side 
of  the  house.  The  glass  cases  of  insects  and  butter 
flies,  and  the  old-fashioned  engravings  of  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  Lord  Derby,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and 
Queen  Victoria's  marriage  ceremony  were  just  leav 
ing  the  house.  Mrs.  Campbell,  walking  in  her  most 
stately  manner,  approached  the  foreman  and  began 
to  give  him  some  orders.  He  listened  impatiently 
a  few  moments,  and  then  answered  with  small 
courtesy : 

"  I  have  my  written  directions,  ma'am,  from  the 
master,  and  I  shall  follow  them  to  the  letter.  There 
is  no  use  in  you  bothering  and  interfering,"  and 
with  the  last  word  on  his  lips,  he  turned  from  her 
to  address  some  of  his  workmen. 


44  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

She  looked  at  him  in  utter  amazement  and  speech 
less  anger;  then  with  an  apparent  haughty  indiffer 
ence,  turned  into  the  breakfast-room  bringing  the 
word  "  interfering  "  with  her,  and  flavoring  every  re 
mark  she  made  with  it.  She  was  in  a  white  heat  of 
passion,  and  really  felt  herself  to  have  been  insulted 
beyond  all  pacification.  Isabel  had  been  a  little  in 
advance,  and  had  not  seen  and  heard  the  affront, 
but  she  was  in  thorough  sympathy  with  her  mother. 
Christina  was  differently  affected.  The  idea  of  a 
workman  telling  her  mother  not  to  interfere  in  her 
own  house  was  so  flagrantly  impudent,  that  it  was 
to  Christina  flagrantly  funny.  Every  time  Mrs. 
Campbell  imitated  the  man,  she  felt  that  she  must 
give  way,  and  at  length  the  strain  was  uncontrollable, 
and  she  burst  into  a  screaming  passion  of  laughter. 

"  Forgive  me,  mother!  "  she  said  as  soon  as  speech 
was  possible.  "  That  man's  impertinence  to  you  has 
made  me  hysterical,  for  I  never  saw  you  treated  so 
disrespectfully  before.  I  was  very  nervous  when 
I  rose  this  morning." 

"  You  must  conquer  such  absurd  feelings,  Chris 
tina.  Observe  your  sister  and  myself.  We  should 
be  ashamed  to  exhibit  such  a  total  collapse  of  will 
power." 

"  Excuse  me,  mother.  I  will  go  to  my  room  until 
I  feel  better." 

"Very  well,  Christina.  You  had  better  take  a 
drink  of  water.  Remember,  you  must  learn  to  meet 
annoyance  like  a  sensible  woman." 

"  I  will,  mother." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  45 

But  after  breakfast  when  Isabel  came  to  her,  she 
went  off  into  peals  of  laughter  again,  burying  her 
face  in  the  pillows,  and  only  lifting  it  to  ejaculate: 
"  It  was  too  delicious,  Isabel — too  deliciously  funny 
for  anything!  If  you  had  seen  that  man  stare 
mother  in  the  face — and  tell  her  not  to  interfere  I 
I  wondered  how  he  dared,  but  I  admired  him  for 
it;  he  was  a  big,  handsome  fellow.  Oh,  how  I 
wished  I  was  like  him!  What  privileges  men  do 
have?" 

"  Do  you  mean  to  call  it  a  privilege  to  tell  mother 
not  to  interfere?  " 

"  Many  a  time  I  would  like  to  have  done  it;  yes, 
many  a  time.  I  know  it  is  wicked,  but  mother  does 
interfere  too  much.  It  is  her  specialty !  "  and  Chris 
tina  appeared  ready  for  another  fit  of  laughter. 

"  If  you  laugh  any  more,  Christina,  I  shall  feel 
it  my  duty  to  throw  cold  water  in  your  face.  Mother 
told  me  to  do  so." 

"  Such  advice  comes  from  her  interfering  temper. 
That  handsome  fellow  was  right." 

"  Behave  yourself,  Christina.  What  is  the  matter 
with  you?  " 

"  It  is  the  change,  Isabel.  To  see  lots  of  men 
in  the  hall,  and  that  heavy  black  furniture  and  the 
poor  beetles  and  butterflies,  and  the  great  men's  pic 
tures  going  away " 

"  Can't  you  speak  correctly?     Are  you  sick?" 

"I  must  be!" 

"  Go  back  to  bed,  and  I  will  get  mother  to  giv* 
you  a  sleeping  powder." 


46  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  That  will  be  better  than  cold  water.  If  you 
could  only  have  seen  mother's  face,  Isabel,  when 
that  man  told  her  not  to  interfere.  As  for  him, 
he  had  a  wink  in  his  eyes,  I  know.  I  hope  I  shall 

never  see  him  again.     If  I  do " 

"  I  trust  you  will  behave  decently,  as  Christina 
Campbell  ought  to  do." 

"  If  he  winks,  I  shall  laugh.     I  know  I  shall/' 
"  Then  you  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself !  " 
"  I  am,  but  what  good  does  that  do?  " 
"  See  here,  Christina,  there  are  going  to  be  many 
changes  in  this  house,  and  if  you  intend  to  meet  them 
with  this  idiotic  laughter,  what  pleasure  can  you  ex 
pect?      Be  sensible,  Christina." 

Poor  Christina !  The  keenest  of  all  her  faculties 
was  her  sense  of  the  ridiculous.  On  this  side  of 
her  nature,  her  intellect  could  have  been  highly  de 
veloped,  but  instead  it  had  been  ruthlessly  depressed 
and  ignored.  The  comic  page  of  the  newspapers, 
the  only  page  she  cared  for,  was  generally  removed; 
she  could  tell  a  funny  story  delightfully,  but  no  one 
smiled  if  she  did  so;  she  saw  the  comical  attributes 
of  every  one,  and  everything,  but  it  was  a  grave 
misdemeanor  to  point  them  out;  and  thus  snubbed 
and  chided  for  the  one  thing  she  could  do,  she  feared 
to  attempt  others  which  she  knew  only  in  a  mediocre 
manner. 

At  the  dinner  table  she  was  able  to  take  her  place 
in  a  placid,  sensible  mood.  She  found  the  family 
deep  in  the  discussion  of  an  immediate  removal  to 
the  seashore.  It  was  at  any  rate  about  the  usual 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  47 

time  of  their  summer  migration,  and  Robert  was  ad 
vising  his  mother  to  go  to  the  Isle  of  Arran.  But 
Mrs.  Campbell  had  resolved  to  go  to  Campbelton, 
where  she  had  many  relations.  "  We  can  stay  at 
the  Argyle  Arms,"  she  said,  "  and  then  neither  the 
Lairds  nor  the  Crawfords  will  have  the  face  to  be 
dropping  in  for  a  few  days'  change,  at  my  expense." 

Christina  looked  distressed,  and  touched  Isabel's 
foot  to  excite  her  to  rebellion.  "  Mother,"  said 
Isabel  dolorously,  "  Christina  and  I  hate  Campbel 
ton  !  It  smells  of  whiskey  and  fish,  and  not  even 
the  great  sea  winds  can  make  the  place  clean  and 
sweet." 

"  It  makes  me  ill,"  ventured  Christina. 

"  My  family  have  lived  there  for  generations, 
Christina,  and  it  never  made  them  ill.  They  are, 
indeed,  very  robust  and  healthy." 

"  There  is  nothing  to  see,  mother." 

"  I  am  ashamed  of  you,  Christina.  It  is  a  town 
of  the  greatest  antiquity,  and  was,  as  you  ought  to 
know,  the  capital  of  the  Dalriadan  kingdom  in  the 
sixth  and  seventh  century." 

"  I  know  all  about  its  antiquities,  mother.  I  wish 
I  didn't." 

"  Christina,  what  is  the  matter  with  you  to-day?  " 

"  I  am  tired  of  living,  mother." 

"  Robert,  do  you  hear  your  sister?  " 

"Why  are  you  tired  of  living,  Christina?  "  asked 
Robert,  not  unkindly. 

"We  do  not  live,  brother;  that  is  the  reason." 

"  What  do  vou  mean?  " 


48  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Life  is  variety.  To  us  every  day  is  the  same, 
except  the  Sabbath,  and  that  is  the  worst  day  of 
all.  I  don't  blame  you,  brother,  for  a  desperate 
effort  to  change  your  life.  If  I  were  a  man  I  should 
run  away." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  a  desperate  effort,  Chris 
tina?" 

"  I  mean  marriage.  Sometimes  I  feel  that  I 
would  run  away  with  any  man  that  would  marry 
me." 

"  Hush!  Such  a  feeling  is  shameful.  What  do 
you  wish  instead  of  Campbelton?  " 

The  courage  of  the  desperate  possessed  Christina 
and  she  answered:  "  I  should  like  to  travel.  I  want 
to  see  Edinburgh  and  London  and  Paris  like  other 
girls  whose  families  have  money,  and  Isabel  feels 
as  badly  at  our  restrictions  as  I  do." 

"What  do  you  say,  mother?  Will  you  go  with 
the  girls  to  Edinburgh  and  London?  Paris  is  out 
of  the  question.  I  will  pay  all  expenses." 

"  I  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  I  am  going  to 
Campbelton.  I  suppose  the  girls  can  go  by  them 
selves." 

"  You  know  better,  mother." 

"  English  girls  go  all  over  the  world  by  them 
selves,  and  some  kinds  of  Scotch  girls  are  beginning 
to  think  mothers  an  unnecessary  institution." 

Robert  looked  at  Isabel,  and  she  said:  "  We  might 
have  a  courier.  I  mean  a  lady  courier." 

"  I  will  not  permit  my  daughters  to  go  stravaging 
round  the  world  with  any  strange  woman.  Robert, 


A  Tie  constructed  Marriage  49 

I  think  you  have  behaved  most  imprudently  to  pro 
pose  any  such  thing." 

"  In  your  company,  mother,  was  my  suggestion. 
I  do  think  an  entire  change  of  people  and  surround 
ings  would  do  both  you  and  my  sisters  a  great  deal 
of  good." 

"  Changes  are  plentiful;  too  many  are  now  in 
progress." 

So  the  subject  died  in  bad  temper,  and  Robert  felt 
his  proffered  kindness  to  have  been  very  ungraciously 
received.  But  when  he  rose  from  the  table,  Chris 
tina  touched  his  arm  as  he  passed  her  chair.  "  Thank 
you,  brother,"  she  said.  "  You  wished  to  give  us 
a  little  pleasure.  It  is  not  your  fault  we  are  de 
prived  of  it." 

He  saw  that  her  eyes  were  full  of  tears,  and  her 
weary,  plaintive  voice  touched  his  heart,  so  he 
turned  to  his  mother  and  said: 

"  Think  of  what  I  have  proposed.  I  will  not 
stint  you  in  expenses.  Give  the  girls  and  yourself 
a  little  pleasure — do." 

"  Your  own  expenses  are  going  to  be  tremendous, 
Robert,  furnishing,  travelling  and  what  not.  I  can't 
conscientiously  increase  them." 

At  these  words  Christina  left  the  room.  Robert 
did  not  answer  his  mother's  remark,  but  he  looked 
at  Isabel,  and  she  understood  the  look  as  en 
trusting  the  further  prosecution  of  the  subject  to 
her. 

Mrs.  Campbell,  however,  refused  to  give  up 
Campbelton.  "  I  heard,"  she  said,  "  that  Mrs. 


50  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

Walter  Galbraith  was  going  to  France  and 
Italy.  Perhaps  she  will  allow  you  to  travel  with 
her." 

Isabel  looked  at  her  mother  with  something  like 
reproach.  "  You  know  well,  mother,  that  Mrs.  Gal 
braith  dresses  and  travels  in  the  most  extravagant 
fashion.  She  would  not  be  seen  with  two  old  maids 
in  plain  brown  merino  suits.  We  should  look  like 
her  servants.  Even  if  we  got  stylish  travelling 
gowns,  we  should  want  dinner  dresses,  and  opera 
dresses,  and  cloaks  and  changes,  and  small  necessities 
innumerable.  It  would  cost  a  thousand  pounds,  if 
not  more,  to  clothe  us  both  for  a  three  months' 
travel  with  Mrs.  Galbraith." 

"  Then  be  sensible  women  and  go  to  Campbelton. 
You  can  take  your  wheels  and  on  the  firm  sands  of 
Macrihanish  Bay  have  a  five  miles'  unbroken  spin. 
There  are  boating  and  fishing  and  very  interesting 
walks." 

"  And  Christina  will  find  company  for  her  wheel 
and  walks,  mother.  The  last  time  we  were  in  Camp 
belton,  the  schoolmaster,  James  Rathey,  was  con 
stantly  with  her.  He  was  in  love,  and  Christina 
liked  him.  After  we  came  home  he  wrote  to  her, 
and  I  had  hard  work  to  prevent  her  answering  his 
letters." 

"  You  ought  to  have  told  me  this  before." 

"  I  was  sorry  for  her.  Poor  girl,  he  was  the  only 
lover  she  ever  had!  " 

"  Such  folly!  I  shall  watch  the  schoolmaster  my 
self  this  summer.  I  have  influence  enough  to  get 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  51 

him  dismissed.  He  shall  not  teach  in  Campbelton 
another  year." 

"  Oh,  mother,  how  cruel  and  unjust  that  would 
be!  I  am  sorry  I  told  you."  And  Isabel  felt  the 
case  to  be  hopeless,  and  did  not  make  another  plea. 

She  went  straight  to  her  sister's  room.  "  Mother 
is  not  to  be  moved,  Christina,"  she  said.  "  We 
shall  have  to  go  to  Campbelton." 

"  So  be  it.  Jamie  Rathey  will  be  having  his  vaca 
tion  now,  and  he  can  play  the  fiddle  and  sing  '  The 
Laird  o'  Cockpen '  worth  listening  to.  He  prom 
ised  to  buy  a  wheel  before  I  came  again,  and  then 
we  will  away  to  Macrihanish  sands  for  a  race.  I 
won't  be  cheated  out  of  that  pleasure,  Isabel,  and 
you  need  not  say  a  word  about  it." 

"  You  cannot  hide  it.  Every  one  but  mother 
knew  about  you  and  James  Rathey  last  year,  and 
Aunt  Laird  would  have  told  mother,  but  I  begged 
her  not.  If  you  begin  that  foolishness  again,  I  must 
attend  to  the  matter." 

"You  mean  you  will  tell  mother?" 

11  Yes,  decidedly." 

"  Then  you  will  be  an  ill-natured  sister." 

A  little  later  Mrs.  Campbell  appeared  and  told 
them  to  pack  their  trunks,  and  lock  up  the  clothing 
they  did  not  intend  to  take  with  them.  "  The 
paperers  and  painters  are  coming  into  the  house  to 
morrow  morning,"  she  said.  "  We  shall  take  the 
boat  for  Campbelton  directly  after  an  early  break 
fast." 

As  neither  Isabel  nor  Christina  made  any  protest, 


52  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

she  added:  "  You  may  go  at  once  and  buy  yourselves 
a  couple  of  suits,  one  for  church,  and  a  white  one 
that  will  be  easily  laundered.  I  suppose  hats,  gloves, 
shoes,  and  some  other  things  will  be  necessary.  You 
can  each  of  you  spend  forty  pounds.  This  is  a  gift> 
I  shall  not  take  it  from  your  allowance." 

"  I  cannot  see  through  mother,"  observed  Chris 
tina  as  they  were  on  their  shopping  expedition. 

"  Can  you  see  through  anything,  Christina?  I 
cannot." 

"  She  had  a  great  fit  of  the  liberalities  this  morn 
ing.  What  for?" 

"  She  was  buying  us.  One  way  or  another,  she 
has  us  all  under  her  feet." 

"Poor  Theodora!" 

"  Keep  your  pity  for  poor  Christina.  If  Theo 
dora  has  been  a  schoolmistress  she  knows  fine  how  to 
hold  her  own." 

"  With  schoolgirls — perhaps.  Mother  is  differ 
ent." 

"  The  difference  is  not  worth  counting.  Women, 
old  and  young,  are  very  much  alike." 

"  Do  you  believe  the  paperers  and  painters  begin 
work  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  Mother  said  so.  It  is  one  of  her  virtues  to 
tell  the  truth.  You  know  how  often  she  declares 
she  would  not  lie  even  to  the  devil." 

"  Yes — but  was  that  the  truth?  " 

"  It  is  not  right  to  criticise  and  question  what 
your  mother  says,  Christina." 

In  the  morning  the  arrival  of  a  number  of  men 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  53 

with  pails,  and  brushes,  and  paint-pots,  justified  Mrs. 
Campbell's  assertion,  and  the  three  women  were  glad 
to  escape  the  dirt,  noise,  and  confusion  in  Traquair 
House,  even  for  the  Argyle  Arms  in  Campbelton. 
Robert  went  with  them  to  the  boat,  and  Isabel's 
pathetic  acceptance  of  what  she  disliked,  and  the 
tears  in  Christina's  eyes  made  him  a  little  unhappy. 
He  slipped  some  gold  into  their  hands,  as  he  bid 
them  good-bye,  and  their  silent  looks  of  pleasure 
at  his  remembrance,  soothed  the  uncertain  sense  of 
some  unkindness  or  unfairness  which  had  troubled 
him  since  Christina's  rebellious  outbreak.  He  was 
glad  he  had  gone  with  them  to  the  boat,  and  glad 
that  he  had  given  them  a  parting  token  of  his  broth 
erly  care,  and  he  felt  that  he  could  now  turn  cheer 
fully  to  his  own  pressing  but  delightful  affairs. 

He  was  singularly  happy  in  them,  and  really  glad 
to  be  rid  of  all  advice  and  interference.  Men  who 
had  known  him  for  many  years,  wondered  at  his 
boyish  joyfulness.  He  was  a  different  Robert  Camp 
bell,  but  then  it  was  generally  known  he  was  in  love, 
and  all  the  world  loves  a  lover.  No  one  was  cruel 
or  malicious  enough  to  warn,  or  advise,  or  shadow 
the  glory  of  his  expectations  by  any  doubt  of  their 
full  accomplishment.  The  initiated  gossiped  among 
themselves,  and  some  said:  "  Campbell  is  a  fool  to 
be  making  such  a  fuss  about  any  woman;"  and 
others  spoke  of  Mrs.  Traquair  Campbell,  and  "  won 
dered  how  the  English  girl  would  manage  her." 

'  The  poor  lassie  will  be  at  her  mercy,"  said  one 
old  man. 


54  ^  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  She  will,"  answered  his  companion,  "  for  the 
Traquair  Campbells'  ways  will  be  dark  to  a  stranger. 
It  takes  a  Scotchwoman  to  match  a  Scotchwoman." 

"  Yet  I  have  heard  that  the  old  lady  is  a  wonder 
o'  good  sense  and  prudence.  Her  husband  was  a 
useless  body,  but  she  managed  him  fine,  and  was  one 
o'  those  women  that  are  a  crown  to  their  husbands." 

The  first  speaker  laughed  peculiarly.  "  Man, 
David!  "  he  said,  "  little  you  ken,  if  you  take  King 
Solomon's  ideas  of  a  comfortable  wife  to  live  wi'. 
The  women  who  are  a  crown  to  a  poor  man  are 
generally  a  crown  o'  thorns,  I'm  thinking." 

But  no  doubts  or  fears  troubled  Robert  Campbell. 
He  thought  only  of  his  marvellous  fortune  in  win 
ning  a  woman  so  lovely  and  so  good.  He  was  not 
unmindful  of  either  her  intellect  or  her  education,, 
but  he  did  not  talk  of  these  excellencies,  even  to  his 
chief  friend  Archie  St.  Claire.  He  had  a  feeling 
that  intellect  and  learning  were  masculine  attributes, 
and  he  preferred  to  dwell  entirely  on  the  sweet  femi 
nine  virtues  of  his  beloved.  But  this,  or  that,  there 
was  no  other  woman  in  the  world  but  Theodora  to 
Robert  Campbell,  for  lovers  are  selfish  creatures, 
and  Lord  Beaconsfield  says  truly :  "  To  a  man  in 
love,  all  other  women  are  uninteresting,  if  not  re 
pulsive." 

So  the  days  and  the  weeks  went  happily  past,  in 
preparing  a  home  for  Theodora.  He  went  over 
and  over  very  frequently  the  last  few  words — "  a. 
home  for  Theodora !  "  and  they  sung,  and  swung, 
and  shone  in  his  heart,  and  made  his  life  a  fairy 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  55 

story.  "  I  never  knew  what  it  was  to  be  happy 
before,"  he  said  repeatedly;  and  it  was  the  truth, 
for  up  to  this  time  he  had  never  felt  the  joy  of  that 
mystical  blending  of  two  souls,  when  self  is  lost  and 
found  again  in  the  being  of  another. 

Twice  he  took  a  trip  to  Campbelton,  and  found 
all  to  his  satisfaction.  His  mother  was  surrounded 
by  her  kindred,  a  situation  a  Scotch  man  or  woman 
tolerates  with  an  equanimity  that  is  astonishing;  and 
Isabel  and  Christina  wore  their  usual  air  of  placid 
indifference  to  everything.  They  were  all  desirous 
to  know  what  had  been  done  in  the  house,  but  he 
refused  to  enter  into  explanations.  "  It  is  ill  prais 
ing  or  banning  half-done  work,"  he  said  in  excuse, 
"  but  I  promise  on  my  next  visit  to  take  you  home 
with  me,  and  then  you  will  see  the  work  finished." 

"  And  then  you  will  go  and  get  married?  "  asked 
Christina,  and  he  answered  with  a  smile,  "  Then  I 
shall  go  and  get  married." 

"  When  you  bring  Theodora  home  she  will  give 
us  a  little  pleasure,  I  hope." 

"  I  am  sure  she  will.  Theodora  is  fond  of  com 
pany  and  entertainments,  and  she  will  wish  you  to 
share  them  with  us,  and  that  will  add  to  my  pleasure 
also." 

"  We  shall  see." 
"  Do  you  doubt  what  I  say?  " 
"  My  dreams  never  come  true,  Robert." 
"  Theodora  will  make  them  come  true." 
Then  Christina  laughed  a  little,  and  Isabel  looked 
at  her  mother's  dour,  scornful  face  and  copied  it. 


56  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

Robert  noticed  the  expression,  and  he  asked  pleas 
antly:  "What  kind  of  summer  have  you  had,  Isa 
bel?" 

"  Exactly  the  summer  we  expected.  Sometimes 
the  minister  called,  and  talked  in  an  exciting  manner 
about  Calvinism,  and  the  smallpox;  and  we  have 
been  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  relatives.  Mother 
has  enjoyed  them  very  much;  she  had  not  seen  some 
of  her  fourth  and  fifth  cousins  for  nearly  seven  years ; 
they  had  increased  in  number  considerably  during 
that  interval,  and  their  names,  and  dispositions,  the 
sicknesses  they  had  been  through,  the  various  talents 
they  showed,  have  all  been  to  talk  over  a  great  many 
times.  Oh,  mother  has  enjoyed  it  much !  It  makes 
no  matter  about  Christina  and  myself." 

"  It  does  make  matter,  Isabel.  This  coming  win 
ter  I  intend  to  see  you  go  out  as  much  as  you 
desire." 

"  Thank  you,  brother.  Christina  will  enjoy  the 
opportunities.  I  have  outlived  the  desire  for  amuse 
ments.  I  would  rather  travel,  and  see  places  and 
famous  things.  People  no  longer  interest  me." 

"  I  think  with  a  little  inquiry  that  can  be  man 
aged.  I  am  so  happy,  Isabel,  I  wish  every  one  else 
to  be  happy." 

She  looked  at  her  brother  wonderingly,  and  at 
night  as  the  sisters  sat  doing  their  hair  in  Christina's 
room  she  said:  "Love  must  be  an  amazing  thing, 
Christina,  to  change  any  one  the  way  it  has  changed 
Robert  Campbell.  The  man  has  been  in  a  sense 
converted — he  has  found  grace,  whether  it  be  the 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  57 

grace  of  God,  or  the  grace  of  Love,  I  know  not,  no, 
nor  anybody  else  just  yet." 

"  St.  John  says,  '  God  is  love.'  I  have  often  won 
dered  about  those  words." 

"  Then  keep  your  wonder.  If  you  ask  for  ex 
planations  about  things,  all  the  wonder  and  the 
beauty  goes  out  of  them.  When  I  was  at  school, 
and  had  to  pull  a  rose  to  pieces  and  write  down  all 
the  Latin  names  of  its  structure,  its  beauty  was 
gone.  The  rose  was  explained  to  us,  but  it  wasn't 
a  rose  any  longer.  God  is  Love.  We  will  thank 
St.  John  for  telling  us  that  beautiful  truth,  but  we 
will  not  ask  for  explanations.  Maybe  you  may 
find  out  some  day  all  that  Love  means.  You  are 
not  too  old,  and  would  be  handsome  if  you  were 
dressed  becomingly,  and  were  happy." 

"Happy?" 

"  Yes.  Happiness  makes  people  beautiful.  Look 
at  Robert.  He  was  rather  good-looking  before  he 
was  in  love,  he  is  now  a  very  handsome  man.  Theo 
dora  has  worked  wonders  in  his  appearance." 

"  He  takes  more  pains  with  his  dress." 

"  That  helps,  of  course." 

"  My  hair  is  very  good  yet,  Isabel." 

"  You  have  splendid  hair,  and  fine  eyes.  Properly 
dressed  you  would  not  look  over  twenty-two  years 
old." 

"  You  think  so,  because  you  love  me  a  little." 

"  I  love  you  better  than  I  love  anything  else.  We 
have  suffered  a  great  deal  together.  I  do  not  mean 
afflictions  and  big  troubles,  but  a  lifelong,  never- 


58  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

lifted  repression  and  depression,  and  a  perfect  starva 
tion  of  heart  and  soul." 

"  Not  soul,  Isabel.  We  could  always  go  to  the 
Kirk,  and  we  had  our  Bible  and  good  books,  and  the 
like." 

"  It  was  all  dead  comfort.  There  was  no  life, 
no  love  in  it." 

"  Maybe  it  was  our  fault,  perhaps  we  ought  to 
have  stood  up  for  our  rights.  Girls  have  begun  to 
do  so  now." 

"We  may  be  to  blame,  who  knows?  Good 
night." 

Three  weeks  after  this  conversation,  Robert  came 
to  Campbelton  for  his  mother  and  sisters.  He  was 
in  the  same  glad  mood,  and  what  was  still  more  re 
markable,  patient  and  cheerful  with  all  the  small 
worries  and  explanations  and  contradictory  directions 
of  Mrs.  Campbell.  She  was  carrying  back  to  Glas 
gow  two  Skye  terriers,  a  tortoise-shell  cat,  presents 
of  kippered  herring  and  cheeses,  and,  above  all,  a 
tiny  marmoset  monkey  given  her  by  a  third  cousin, 
who  was  master  of  a  sailing  vessel  trading  to  South 
American  ports.  She  was  immoderately  fond  and 
proud  of  this  gift,  and  no  one  but  Robert  was  al 
lowed  to  carry  the  basket  in  which  it  was  cradled 
in  soft  wool. 

But  encumbered  on  every  hand  and  charged  con 
tinually  about  this,  that,  and  the  other,  Robert  kept 
his  temper  better  than  his  sisters;  and  at  length,  with 
the  help  of  two  or  three  vehicles,  brought  all  safely 
to  Traquair  House.  Now,  if  Mrs.  Campbell  had 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  59 

thus  loaded  and  impeded  herself  and  her  whole  fam 
ily  for  the  very  purpose  of  making  their  entry  into 
the  renovated  home  a  scene  of  confusion,  in  which 
it  was  impossible  to  observe  things,  she  could  not 
have  succeeded  better.  Christina,  indeed,  uttered  an 
exclamation  of  delight,  but  the  great  interest  of  all 
parties  was  to  get  rid  of  their  various  impediments. 
Each  of  the  girls  had  a  Skye  terrier,  Mrs.  Campbell 
had  the  cat,  Robert  the  marmoset,  and  there  were 
bundles,  bonnet  boxes,  parcels,  umbrellas,  parasols, 
rugs,  etc.,  all  to  be  carried  in,  counted,  and  checked 
off  Mrs.  Campbell's  list  of  her  belongings. 

But  in  an  hour  the  confusion  had  settled,  and  by 
the  time  the  travellers  had  removed  their  hats  and 
wraps  and  washed  and  dressed,  a  good  dinner  was 
on  the  table.  It  put  every  one  in  a  more  agreeable 
temper,  and  when  they  had  eaten  it,  there  was  still 
light  enough  to  examine  the  changes  that  had  been 
made.  Mrs.  Campbell  declared  she  was  tired,  but 
she  could  not  resist  the  offer  of  Robert's  arm  and 
the  way  in  which  he  said:  "  Come,  mother,  I  shall 
not  be  happy  without  your  approval;  I  never  knew 
you  to  be  tired  with  any  day's  work,  no  matter  how 
it  might  tire  others." 

The  compliment  won  her.  She  rose  instantly,  and 
leaning  on  her  son's  arm  passed  into  the  hall.  It 
had  been  dark  and  gloomy,  though  fairly  handsome. 
It  was  now  finished  in  the  palest  shades,  was  light 
and  airy  and  looked  much  larger.  Where  the  cases 
of  impaled  beetles  and  crucified  butterflies  had  stood, 
there  were  pots  of  ferns  and  flowers,  and  the  special 


60  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

furniture  necessary  was  of  light  woods  and  modern 
designs.  All  the  rooms  leading  from  this  hall  were 
richly  and  elegantly  furnished;  the  same  idea  of 
lightness  and  gracefulness  being  admirably  carried 
out.  Nothing  had  been  forgotten,  even  the  most 
trivial  toilet  articles  were  present  in  their  most  beau 
tiful  form.  Isabel  lifted  some  of  these,  and  asked: 
"How  did  you  know  about  such  things,  Robert?" 

"  I  did  not  know,  Isabel,"  he  answered,  "  but  I 
went  to  a  place  where  such  things  are  sold,  and  told 
them  to  fit  a  lady's  toilet  perfectly,  with  all  that  ladies 
use  and  desire.  Theodora  may  not  like  the  per 
fumes;  indeed,  I  do  not  think  she  uses  perfume  of 
any  kind,  but  they  can  be  sent  back,  or  changed." 

"Well,  Robert,"  said  Mrs.  Campbell,  when  all 
apartments  had  been  examined,  "  these  rooms  are  fit 
for  a  queen,  and  many  a  poor  queen  never  had  any 
thing  half  so  splendid  and  comfortable.  Theodora 
will  be  confounded  by  their  richness  and  beauty.  I 
should  say  she  never  saw  anything  like  them." 

"  Indeed,  you  are  mistaken,  mother.  I  met  her 
first  at  John  Priestley's,  Member  of  Parliament  for 
Sheffield,  where  she  was  the  guest  of  his  daughter, 
and  in  their  mansion  the  rooms  are  much  handsomer 
than  anything  we  have  here.  Theodora  has  been 
a  guest  in  some  of  the  finest  manor  houses  in  Eng 
land.  These  rooms  are  quite  modest  compared  with 
some  she  has  occupied." 

"  I  think,  then,  she  will  be  too  fine  for  this  family. 
But  Robert,  I  can  not,  and  I  will  not,  change  my 
ways  at  my  time  of  life.  I  may  be  plain  and  com- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  61 

mon — perhaps — I  may  be  vulgar  in  Theodora's  eyes, 
but " 

"  My  dear  mother,  you  are  all  a  woman  and  a 
mother  should  be.  You  represent  the  finest  ladies 
of  your  generation.  Theodora  is  the  fruit  and  flower 
of  a  later  one,  different,  but  no  better  than  your 
own.  You  are  everything  I  want.  I  would  not 
have  you  changed  in  any  respect."  He  looked  into 
her  face  with  eyes  full  of  love,  and  gently  pressed 
her  arm  against  his  side. 

Such  appreciative  words  as  these  were  most  un 
usual,  and  Mrs.  Campbell  felt  them  thrill  her  heart 
with  pleasure.  She  even  half-resolved  to  try  to  like 
Robert's  wife,  and  spoke  enthusiastically  about  the 
taste  her  son  had  displayed.  In  the  morning  she 
was  still  more  delighted,  for  then  she  discovered  that 
her  own  drawing-room  had  been  redecorated,  a  new 
light  carpet  laid,  and  many  beautiful  pieces  of  furni 
ture  added  to  brighten  its  usual  gloom.  Nor  had 
Isabel's  and  Christina's  rooms  been  forgotten;  in 
many  ways  they  had  been  beautified,  and  only  the 
family  dining-room  had  been  left  in  the  gloom  of 
its  dark,  though  handsome  furniture.  But  Robert 
hoped  by  the  following  summer  his  mother  would  be 
willing  to  have  it  totally  changed,  for  he  remembered 
hearing  Theodora  say  that  the  room  in  which  people 
eat  ought  to  be,  above  all  other  rooms  in  the  house, 
bright,  and  light,  and  cheerful.  Indeed,  she  thought 
it  a  matter  of  well-being  to  eat  under  the  happiest 
circumstances  possible. 

In  the  height  of  the  women's  delight  and  grati- 


62  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

tude,  Robert  set  off  on  his  wedding  journey.  His 
joy  infected  the  whole  house.  Even  the  cross  Mc- 
Nab  and  the  mournful  Jepson  were  heard  laughing, 
and  Christina  spoke  of  this  as  among  the  wonder- 
fuls  of  her  existence.  Perhaps  the  one  most  pleased 
was  Mrs.  Campbell.  She  had  been  surrounded  by 
the  same  depressing  furniture  and  upholstery  for 
thirty-seven  years,  and  she  had  almost  a  childish 
pleasure  in  the  new  white  lace  curtains  which  had 
been  hung  in  her  rooms.  They  gave  her  a  sense 
of  youth,  of  something  unusually  happy  and  hope 
ful.  Many  times  in  a  day,  she  went,  unknown  to 
any  one,  into  the  drawing-room  and  took  the  fine 
lace  drapery  in  her  fingers,  to  examine  and  admire 
its  beauty.  The  girls  also  were  more  cheerful.  In 
deed,  the  tone  of  the  house  had  been  uplifted  and 
changed,  and  all  through  the  influence  of  more  light, 
some  graceful  modern  furniture,  and  a  little — alas, 
that  it  was  so  little ! — good  will  and  gratitude. 

On  the  fifth  of  October  Robert  Campbell  was  mar 
ried,  and  about  a  week  afterwards,  Archie  St.  Claire 
called  one  evening  upon  his  family. 

"  I  have  just  returned  from  Kendal,"  he  said, 
"  and  I  thought  you  would  like  to  hear  about  the 
wedding.  You  were  none  of  you  there." 

'  We  had  satisfactory  reasons  for  not  going,"  an 
swered  Mrs.  Campbell. 

"  I  was  Robert's  best  man." 

"  I  supposed  so.  Robert  said  very  little  about 
his  arrangements.  What  do  you  think  of  the 
bride?" 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  63 

"  She  is  a  most  beautiful  woman,  fine-natured  and 
sweet-tempered,  and  loved  by  all  who  come  near  her. 
Robert  has  found  a  jewel." 

"  How  was  she  dressed?  "  asked  Isabel. 

"  Perfectly.  White  satin  and  lace,  of  course,  but 
what  I  liked  was  the  simplicity  of  the  gown.  I 
heard  some  one  call  it  a  Princess  shape.  It  fit  her 
beautiful  form  without  a  crease,  and  fell  in  long  soft 
folds  to  her  white  shoes." 

"White  shoes?  Nonsense!"  ejaculated  Mrs. 
Campbell. 

"  White  shoes  with  diamond  buckles." 

"  Paste  buckles  more  likely." 

"  They  looked  like  diamonds.  Her  veil  fell  back 
ward  and  touched  the  bottom  of  her  dress." 

"Backward!  Then  of  what  use  was  it?  I 
thought  brides  wore  a  veil  to  cover  their  faces." 

"  It  would  have  been  a  sin  and  a  shame  to  have 
covered  her  face.  She  looked  like  an  angel.  She 
wore  no  jewels,  and  she  carried  instead  of  flowers 
a  small  Bible  bound  in  purple  velvet  and  gold." 

"Were  there  many  present?" 

"  The  streets  were  crowded,  and  the  church  was 
crowded.  The  Blue  Coat  Boys — a  large  old  school 
in  Kendal — scattered  flowers  before  her  as  she 
walked  from  the  church  gates  to  the  altar;  and  the 
old  rector  who  had  married  her  father  and  mother 
was  quite  affected  by  the  ceremony.  He  kissed  and 
blessed  her  at  the  altar-rail,  after  it  was  over." 

"  Kissed  Robert  Campbell's  bride.  Surely  you 
are  joking,  Mr.  St.  Claire." 


64  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  No,  it  is  a  common  thing  in  English  churches 
after  the  bridal  ceremony  if  the  minister  is  a  friend. 
It  was  a  solemn  and  affecting  sight." 

;' Then  her  father  did  not  marry  her?" 

"  He  gave  her  away.  He  could  not  have  per 
formed  the  ceremony  in  the  parish  church." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  she  was  not  married  in  her 
father's  church?" 

"  She  was  married  in  the  parish  church,  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  places  of  worship  I  was  ever  in — 
a  grand  old  edifice." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  my  son  was  married  in  an 
Episcopal  church,  at  the  very  horns  of  an  Episcopal 
altar?"  asked  Mrs.  Campbell  indignantly. 

"  It  was  the  most  beautiful  marriage  service  I  ever 
saw.  And  the  sweet  old  bells  chimed  so  joyously, 
I  can  never  forget  them." 

"Was  there  a  wedding  breakfast?"  asked  Isabel, 

"  About  twenty  guests  sat  down  to  a  very  prettily- 
decorated  breakfast  table,  and  after  the  meal,  Robert 
and  his  bride  began  their  journey  through  life  to 
gether.  I  have  brought  you  some  bride  cake,"  and 
he  took  from  a  box  in  his  hand  three  smaller  white 
boxes,  tied  with  white  ribbon,  and  presented  them. 
Mrs.  Campbell  laid  hers  unopened  on  the  table  with 
out  a  word  of  thanks  or  courtesy,  and  Isabel  and 
Christina  followed  her  example. 

"  There  was  a  crowd  at  the  railway  station,"  con 
tinued  Mr.  St.  Claire,  "  and  the  Blue  Coat  Boys  met 
the  bride  singing  a  wedding-hymn.  Robert  gave 
them  a  noble  check  for  their  school." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  65 

"  I'll  warrant  he  did.     The  more  fool  he !  " 

"  And  the  last  thing  they  heard  as  they  left  Ken- 
dal  must  have  been  the  church  bells  chiming  joyfully 
— '  Hail,  Happy  Morn  '/  " 

"  Do  you  know  where  they  went?  Robert  was 
not  sure  when  he  left  Scotland." 

"  I  think  I  do,  Mrs.  Campbell.  They  had  in 
tended  going  through  the  Fife  towns,  and  by  old 
St.  Andrews  to  Wick,  and  so  to  the  Orkneys  and 
Shetlands.  But  it  was  late  in  the  season  for  this 
trip,  so  they  went  to  Paris  and  the  Mediterranean. 
I  think  they  were  right." 

"  Paris,  of  course.     All  the  fools  go  there !  " 

"  Well,  Mrs.  Campbell,  Scotland  is  a  bleak  place 
for  a  honeymoon." 

"  Mr.  St.  Claire,  if  it  does  for  a  man's  home,  it 
may  do  to  honeymoon  in.  That  is  my  opinion." 

"  I  don't  agree  with  you,  Mrs.  Campbell.  A 
honeymoon  is  a  sort  of  transcendental  existence,  and 
a  man  naturally  wants  to  spend  it  as  nearly  in  Para 
dise  as  possible.  There's  no  place  like  the  Mediter 
ranean  for  sunshine,  and  it  is  poetical  and  pictur 
esque,  and  just  the  place  for  lovers." 

Failing,  with  all  his  willing  good  nature,  to  rouse 
any  apparent  interest  in  a  subject  he  considered 
highly  interesting,  he  felt  a  little  offended,  and  rose 
to  depart.  But  ere  he  reached  the  parlor  door  he 
turned  and  said:  "  I  had  nearly  forgotten  one  very 
remarkable  thing  about  the  bride." 

"  Let  us  hear  it,  by  all  means,"  said  Mrs.  Camp 
bell. 


66  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  I  stayed  a  few  days  after  the  marriage,  in  order 
to  visit  Windermere  and  Keswick  Lake  with  Mr. 
Newton — by-the-by,  wonderfully  beautiful  spots, 
nothing  like  them  in  Scotland — and  one  day  while 
waiting  in  his  study,  I  picked  up  a  book.  Imagine 
my  astonishment,  when  I  saw  it  had  been  written  by 
the  bride." 

At  this  information  Mrs.  Campbell  threw  up 
her  hands  with  a  laugh  that  terminated  in  something 
like  a  shriek.  Isabel  laid  her  hand  on  her  mother's 
arm,  and  asked:  "  Are  you  ill,  mother?  " 

"  No,"  she  answered  promptly.  "  I  am  only  like 
Mr.  St.  Claire,  astonished.  I  need  not  have  been. 
Every  girl  scribbles  a  little  now.  Poetry,  of  course." 

"  You  mean  Mrs.  Campbell's  book?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  On  the  contrary,  it  was  a  most  learned  and  in 
teresting  study  of  ancient  and  sacred  geography." 

"  A  schoolbook!  "  and  the  words  were  scoffed  out 
with  utter  contempt. 

"  Then  a  most  fascinating  one.  It  gave  the  Latin 
and  Saxon  names  of  our  own  old  cities,  and  all  the 
historical  and  biographical  incidents  connected  with 
them.  It  treated  the  names  in  the  Bible  and  ancient 
history  in  the  same  way.  The  preacher  was  very 
modest  about  it,  but  said  it  was  now  in  all  the  best 
schools,  and  that  his  daughter  had  quite  a  good  in 
come  from  the  royalty  on  its  sale.  And  he  added: 
'  Since  you  have  discovered  her  secret,  I  may  tell 
you  that  she  has  written  two  novels,  and  a  volume 
of '  " 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  67 

"  Plays,  I  dare  say." 

"  No,  ma'am,  of  Social  Essays." 

"  Really,  Mr.  St.  Claire,  we  can  stand  no  more 
revelations  concerning  the  bride's  perfections  I  Rob 
ert  Campbell  is  only  a  master  of  iron  workers  and 
coal  miners,  and  I  fear  he  will  feel  painfully  his 
inferiority  to  such  a  marvellously  beautiful  and  in 
tellectual  woman.  As  for  myself,  and  my  poor  girls, 
I  can  only  say — grant  us  patience!  " 

St.  Claire  bowed,  and  made  a  hurried  exit.  "  Ill- 
natured  and  envious  creatures  as  ever  I  met,"  he 
mused.  "I'm  sorry  for  Mrs.  Robert!  She  will 
have  troubles  great  and  small  with  those  women 
under  her  roof,  and  I  wonder  if  Robert  will  have 
the  gumption  to  stand  by  her.  He  was  always  ex 
traordinarily  afraid  of  his  mother.  I  should  be 
afraid  of  her  myself.  I  am  thankful  my  mother 
isn't  the  least  like  her !  My  mother  is  made  of  love 
and  sweet-temper,  and  she  is  more  of  a  lady  in  her 
winsey  skirt  and  linen  short  gown  than  Mrs.  Tra- 
quair  Campbell  is  in  all  her  silk  and  lace  and  jew 
elry.  Thank  God  for  His  mercies!  The  Book  says 
a  good  wife  is  from  the  Lord.  I  know,  by  per 
sonal  experience,  that  a  good  mother  is  even  more 
so.  I'll  just  write  mother  a  letter  this  very  night, 
and  tell  her  all  about  the  wedding.  She  will  enjoy 
every  word  of  it,  and  at  the  end  say :  '  God  bless 
the  young  things !  With  His  blessing  they'll  do  weel 
enough,  whatever  comes.' ' 

There  was  no  blessing  in  Mrs.  Campbell's  heart. 
She  looked  at  her  girls  in  silence  until  she  heard 


68  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

the  closing  of  the  front  door,  then  she  asked:  "  What 
do  you  say  to  Mr.  St.  Claire's  story?"  and  Isabel 
answered :  "  I  say  what  you  said,  mother — grant  us 
patience!  " 

"  Tut,  Isabel!  Patience?  Nonsense!  I  think 
little  of  that  grace.  Theodora  may  be  a  beauty,  a 
school-teacher,  and  an  authoress,  but  we  three  women 
can  match  her." 

"Whatever  made  Robert  marry  her?" 

"  That  is  past  speculating  about!  But  she  is  the 
man's  choice — such  as  it  is.  Doubtless  he  thinks  her 
without  a  fault,  but,  as  I  told  you  before,  the  bit-by- 
bitness  can  soon  change  that  opinion — a  little  mus 
tard  seed  of  suspicion  or  difference  of  any  kind,  can 
grow  to  a  great  tree.  I'm  telling  you !  Do  not 
forget  what  I  say.  I  am  just  distracted  as  yet  with 
the  situation.  This  world  is  a  hard  place." 

"  I  think  so  too,  mother,"  said  Christina,  "  and 
it  is  small  comfort  to  be  told  the  next  is  probably 


worse." 


"  I  have  had  lots  of  trouble  in  my  life,  girls,  but 
the  worst  of  all  comes  with  what  your  father  called 
1  the  lad  and  lass  business.'  It  was  that  drove  your 
brother  David  beyond  seas,  and  I  have  not  heard  a 
word  from  him  since  he  went  away  one  day  in  a 
passion.  But  this  or  that,  mind  you,  I  have  always 
come  out  of  every  tribulation  victorious — and  there 
is  now  three  of  us — we  shall  be  hard  enough  to 
beat." 

"  Theodora  has  a  good  many  points  in  her  favor," 
said  Christina. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  69 

"  Count  them  up,  then;  count  them  up!  She  is 
a  beauty,  a  genius,  an  Englishwoman,  a  Methodist, 
a  teacher  of  women,  a  writer  of  books,  and  no  doubt 
she  will  try  to  set  up  the  golden  image  of  her  mani 
fold  perfections  in  Traquair  House — but  which  of 
us  three  will  bow  down  before  it  ?  Tell  me !  Tell 
me  that,  Christina  !  " 

"  Not  I,  mother." 

"  Nor  I,"  added  Isabel. 

"  Nor  I,  you  may  take  an  oath  on  that,"  said  Mrs. 
Campbell.  "  And  what  says  the  Good  Book,  '  a 
threefold  cord  is  not  easily  broken?'  Now  you 
may  give  me  Dr.  Chalmer's  last  sermons,  and  I'll 
take  a  few  words  from  him  to  settle  my  mind  and 
put  me  to  sleep;  for  I  am  fairly  distracted  with  the 
prospect  of  such  a  monumental  woman  among  us. 
But  I'll  say  nothing  about  her,  one  way  or  the  other, 
and  then  I  cannot  be  blamed.  I  would  advise  you 
both  to  be  equally  prudent." 

But  Isabel  and  Christina  were  not  of  their 
mother's  mind.  Such  a  delightful  bit  of  gossip  had 
never  before  come  into  their  lives,  and  they  went 
to  Isabel's  room  to  talk  it  all  over  again,  for  Isabel 
being  the  eldest  had  the  largest  and  the  best  fur 
nished  room.  Isabel  made  a  social  event  of  it,  by 
placing  a  little  table  between  them,  set  with  the 
special  dainties  she  kept  for  her  private  refreshment. 
And  they  felt  it  to  be  a  friendly  and  cheerful  thing, 
to  have  this  special  woman  to  season  the  rich  cates 
and  fruit  provided.  So  it  had  struck  twelve  before 
Christina  rose  and  remarked: 


yo  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  You  told  me,  Isabel,  there  were  going  to  be 
changes,  and  you  are  right.  The  next  one  will  be 
the  home-coming,  and  I  dare  say  Robert  will  descend 
on  us  in  the  most  unexpected  time  and  way." 

"  You  are  much  mistaken,  Christina.  I  am  sure 
Robert  will  be  telegraphing  Jepson  from  every  sta 
tion  on  the  road.  The  most  trivial  things  will  be 
directed  by  him.  Let  us  go  to  bed  now;  I  am 
sleepy." 

"  So  am  I.  Thank  you  for  the  good  things. 
They  sweetened  a  disagreeable  subject." 

"  Perhaps  she  may  be  better  than  we  expect.  One 
can  never  tell  what  the  unknown  may  turn  out  to 
be.  Mother  is  inclined  to  be  suspicious  of  all  stran 
gers,"  said  Isabel. 

"  If  mother's  eyes  were  out,  she  would  see  faults 
in  any  one." 

"  Perhaps,  if  they  were  coming  into  Traquair 
House.  She  does  not  trouble  herself  about  people 
who  leave  the  Campbells  alone." 

"  She  spoke  of  poor  brother  David  to-night.  Did 
you  notice  it?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  It  was  the  first  time  I  have  heard  her  mention 
him  since  he  left  us." 

"  She  has  spoken  of  him  to  me,  three  or  four  times 
— a  word  or  two — no  more." 

"  Do  you  know  where  he  is?  " 

"No." 

"  Does  mother  know?  " 

"  No." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  71 

"  Does  any  one  know?  " 

"  No.  Mother  is  sure  he  is  dead.  I  think  so 
myself.  He  would  have  written  to  Robert  if  he 
was  alive.  He  was  gey  fond  of  Robert." 

"  I  was  at  school  when  he  went  away.  I  never 
heard  why  he  went,  for  when  I  came  home  I  was 
forbidden  to  name  him.  Did  he  do  anything 
wrong?  " 

"  No,  no !  You  must  not  suppose  such  a  thing. 
He  was  the  most  loving  and  honorable  of  men." 

"Then  why  did  he  go  away?      Do  you  know?" 

"  Yes,  I  know  all  about  it." 

"  Tell  me,  Isabel.  I  will  never  name  the  sub 
ject  again.  What  did  he  do?  " 

"  Just  what  Robert  has  done — married  a  girl  not 
wanted  in  the  family." 

"  Who  was  the  girl?    Why  was  she  not  wanted?  " 

"  Her  name  was  Agnes  Symington.  She  was  a 
minister's  daughter." 

"Was  she  pretty?" 

"  Very  pretty,  and  good  and  sweet  as  a  woman 
could  be." 

"  Pretty,  and  good,  and  sweet,  and  a  minister's 
daughter!  What  more  did  mother  want?  " 

"  Money." 

"Was  she  poor?" 

"  Yes.  Her  father  was  dead,  and  she  had  learned 
dressmaking  to  support  her  mother  and  herself.  She 
came  to  make  our  winter  dresses,  and  David  saw 
her  and  loved  her.  Though  she  was  a  minister's 
daughter,  mother  had  always  sent  her  to  the  servants* 


72  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

table,  and  she  was  nearly  mad  to  think  David  had 
married  a  girl  from  the  servants'  table.  It  was  dis 
graceful — in  a  way.  The  servants  talked,  and  so 
did  every  one  that  knew  us.  But  David  loved  her, 
and  when  he  went  he  took  both  Agnes  and  her 
mother  with  him." 

"What  did  father  say?" 

"  He  took  David's  part.  He  took  it  angrily.  He 
amazed  us.  He  sold  David's  share  in  the  works 
for  him,  and  so  let  strangers  into  the  company,  and 
he  sent  him  away  with  his  blessing,  and  plenty  of 
money.  David  was  crying  when  he  bid  father  good 
bye;  and  father  was  never  the  same  after  David  left. 
We  always  believed  that  father  knew  where  he  went, 
and  that  he  heard  from  him,  through  Mr.  Oliphant 
or  Dr.  Robertson.  But  mother  could  get  no  words 
from  him  about  David,  except  '  The  boy  did  right. 
God  pity  the  man  whose  wife  is  chosen  for  him !  ' 
I  think  father  had  to  marry  mother  to  save  the 
works.  I  think  so;  I  was  not  told  it  as  a  fact.  Do 
not  breathe  a  word  of  what  I  have  told  you.  It  is 
a  dead  story.  David  and  father  are  both  gone,  and 
I  dare  say  David's  wife  is  married  again." 

"  Thank  you  for  telling  me  the  story,  Isabel.  I 
will  keep  your  confidence.  Do  not  doubt  it.  I  do 
not  blame  David.  I  think  he  did  right.  I  wish 
I  could  do  the  same  thing.  I " 

"Good-night!" 

"  I  would  run  away  to-morrow." 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  BRIDE'S  HOME-COMING 

ROBERT  CAMPBELL'S  home-coming  was  after  the 
fashion  Isabel  had  supposed  it  would  be.  On  the 
eighth  of  November,  Jepson  received  a  telegram 
from  him  before  nine  in  the  morning,  ordering  fires 
to  be  kept  burning  brightly  all  day  in  his  rooms. 
At  eleven  there  was  another  telegram,  directing  Jep 
son  to  have  the  ferns  and  plants  in  the  hall  renewed, 
and  flowers  in  vases  put  in  the  parlor  and  Mrs. 
Campbell's  dressing-room.  At  two  o'clock  Jepson's 
message  contained  the  information  that  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Campbell  would  be  at  the  Caledonian  Railway 
Station  at  half-past  three  o'clock,  and  they  would 
expect  the  carriage  there  for  them. 

So  when  Theodora  arrived  at  Traquair  House, 
she  was  met  by  Jepson  with  obsequious  attentions, 
the  door  was  wide  open  to  receive  her,  and  the  rooms 
were  shining  and  glowing  with  light  and  warmth 
and  beauty.  Thus  far,  all  her  expectations  were 
realized,  but  she  missed  the  human  welcome  which 
ought  to  have  vitalized  its  material  symbols.  Rob 
ert  was  evidently  annoyed  at  the  absence  of  his 
mother  and  sisters,  and  he  asked  sharply  after  them. 

"  They  went  to  their  rooms  after  lunch,  sir,  before 
I  had  time  to  inform  them  of  the  train  you  speci 
fied,"  Jepson  answered. 

73 


74  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

Campbell  seemed  glad  of  so  reasonable  an  excuse, 
and,  turning  to  Theodora,  said :  "  You  must  have 
a  cup  of  tea,  dear,  and  then  rest  for  a  couple  of 
hours.  I  dare  say  we  shall  see  no  one  before  dinner. 
I  suppose  dinner  is  at  seven,  Jepson?" 

"  Yes,  sir.     Seven  o'clock  exactly,  sir." 

After  her  cup  of  tea  Theodora  went  through 
their  rooms  with  her  husband  and  was  charmed  with 
everything  that  had  been  done  for  her  comfort. 
"  Robert,"  she  said,  "  there  is  nothing  wanting  in 
these  rooms.  Everything  I  could  desire  is  here,  ex 
cept  the  smile  and  the  kind  words  of  welcome  to  them 
from  your  family." 

"  Those  will  come  later,  my  sweet  Dora.  The 
Scotch  are  slow  and  undemonstrative.  My  mother 
and  sisters  always  retire  to  their  rooms  after  lunch, 
and  it  is  extremely  difficult  for  them  to  break  a 
habit.  That  is  their  way." 

"  If  habits  are  kind  and  good,  it  is  a  very  good 
way — in  its  way.  But  do  you  not  think,  Robert, 
that  a  little  spontaneity  is  sometimes  a  refreshing  and 
comforting  thing?  " 

"  It  may  be,  but  our  temperaments  are  not  spon 
taneous.  Now,  try  and  sleep  before  you  dress.  I 
will  come  for  you  at  two  minutes  before  seven.  Be 
sure  you  are  ready!  Mother  waits  for  no  one,  not 
even  myself." 

But  in  spite  of  all  the  thoughtful  care  which  her 
husband  had  taken  for  her  comfort,  Theodora  was 
invaded  by  a  feeling  of  melancholy.  Her  heart 
sank  fathoms  deep,  and  she  could  not  follow  his  ad- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  75 

vice  to  sleep.  She  felt  chilled  and  depressed  by  the 
atmosphere  she  was  breathing — an  atmosphere  im 
pregnated  with  the  personalities  of  people  inimical 
to  her.  Being  conscious  of  this  hostility,  she  began 
to  reason  about  it,  a  thing  in  itself  unwise ;  for  happi 
ness  should  never  be  analyzed. 

Very  soon  she  became  aware  of  the  futility  of  her 
thoughts.  "  They  lead  me  to  no  certain  end,  for 
I  am  reasoning  from  premises  unknown  to  me,"  she 
said  to  herself.  "  I  have  heard  of  these  three 
women,  but  I  have  not  seen  them.  I  will  wait  until 
we  look  at  each  other  face  to  face." 

Then  she  called  her  maid,  a  fresh,  honest-hearted 
girl  from  the  Westmoreland  fells,  whom  she  had 
hired  in  Kendal.  "  Ducie,"  she  said,  "  have  you 
been  in  the  kitchen  yet?  " 

"  Oh  yes,  ma'am.  They  are  a  queer  lot  there. 
Only  one  old  man  had  a  good  word  for  any  of  the 
family.  They  were  asking  me  if  you  knew  that  the 
Crawfords  of  Campbelton  had  been  occupying  your 
rooms  for  two  weeks.  '  Plenty  of  hurrying  and 
scurrying,'  they  said,  '  to  get  them  away  and  put  the 
rooms  in  order,  and  the  old  lady  beside  herself  with 
anger,  at  Mr.  Campbell  not  giving  a  longer  notice 
of  his  coming.' ' 

"  Mr.  Campbell  gave  plenty  of  time,  if  the  rooms 
had  not  been  occupied." 

"  And,  if  you  please,  ma'am,  the  trunks  sent  here 
from  Kendal  just  after  your  marriage  have  all  been 
opened,  and  I  may  say,  ma'am — ransacked.  Every 
thing  in  them  is  pell-mell,  and  the  dresses  not  folded 


76  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

straight,  and  the  neckwear  and  such  like,  topsy 
turvy.  And,  ma'am,  your  beautiful  ermine  furs  have 
been  worn,  for  they  are  soiled;  other  things  look 
likewise.  I  don't  know  what  to  make  of  such  ways, 
I'm  sure." 

To  this  information  Theodora  listened  in  dismay 
and  anger.  It  seemed  to  her  such  an  incredible 
outrage  on  decency,  honor,  and  even  honesty.  She 
rose  instantly  and  went  to  look  at  her  trunks.  Ducie 
had  made  a  very  moderate  complaint.  It  was  only 
necessary  to  lift  the  lids  to  convince  herself  that  the 
accusation  was  a  just  one.  For  a  moment  or  two 
she  stood  looking  at  the  disarranged  garments;  her 
face  flushed,  she  locked  her  fingers  together,  and  was 
speechless.  Then  she  sat  down  to  consider  the  cir 
cumstance,  and  her  lovely  face  had  on  it  an  ex 
pression  half-pleading  and  half-defiant.  It  was  the 
face  of  a  woman  you  could  hurt,  but  could  not 
move. 

In  half-an-hour  she  called  Ducie.  "  Do  not  touch 
the  four  trunks  that  were  sent  here  from  Kendal," 
she  said.  "  Open  the  one  we  had  with  us,  and 
take  from  it  my  steel-blue  silk  costume,  and  my  set 
of  pearls." 

"  Will  you  wear  the  silk  waist,  ma'am?  " 

"  No,  the  lace  waist  of  the  same  color.  And, 
Ducie,  keep  silence  concerning  all  you  see  and  hear 
in  these  rooms.  I  know  you  will  do  so,  but  it  does 
no  harm  to  remind  you,  for  you  are  not  used  to  living 
among  a  crowd  of  servants,  and  might  fall  into  some 
trap  set  for  you.  Just  remember,  Ducie,  that  every 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  77 

word  you  say  will  likely  be  repeated,  for  we 
are  in  a  strange  country  and  in  a  way  among 
strangers." 

"  I  know,  ma'am.  New  relations  are  not  like  old 
ones.  The  old  ones  feel  comfortable  like  old  clothes; 
the  new  ones,  like  new  clothes,  need  a  deal  of  taking 
in  and  letting  out  to  make  them  fit." 

"  That  is  so,  Ducie.  I  am  a  little  annoyed  about 
the  open  trunks,  but — but,  I  must  dress  now,  or  I 
will  be  late." 

"  I  wouldn't  be  annoyed,  ma'am,  for  brooding 
over  annoyances  just  hatches  more;  and  I  will  have 
little  to  say  to  any  one.  You  may  trust  me.  I 
will  be  as  good  as  my  word." 

Theodora  dressed  carefully,  and  when  Robert 
came  for  her  he  was  charmed  with  the  quiet  beauty 
of  her  costume.  "  It  is  just  right,  Dora,"  he  said, 
"  perhaps  the  pearls  are  a  little  too  much." 

"  Oh  no,  Robert.  The  dress  requires  them.  They 
are  like  moonlight  on  it,  and  make  each  other  love 
lier." 

"  Come,  then,  we  have  not  a  moment  to  lose.  It 
will  strike  seven  immediately." 

They  entered  the  dining-room  as  it  struck  the 
hour.  Mrs.  Traquair  Campbell  had  taken  her  seat 
at  the  foot  of  the  table,  and  Robert  with  his  bride 
on  his  arm  walked  to  her  side  and  said: 

"  Mother,  this  is  Theodora.  I  hope  you  will  give 
her  your  love  and  welcome." 

Mrs.  Campbell  did  not  rise,  but,  looking  into 
Theodora's  face,  asked:  "  Had  you  a  pleasant  jour- 


78  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

ney?     Are  you  tired?     Railroads  are  fatiguing  kind 
of  travel." 

That  was  all.  She  did  not  say  one  kind  word 
of  welcome,  nor  did  she  offer  her  hand.  In  fact,  she 
had  lifted  the  carving  knife  as  they  entered  the  room, 
and  she  kept  it  in  her  grasp.  Then  Robert  took  her 
to  his  sisters,  and  as  Isabel  sat  on  one  side  of  the 
table,  and  Christina  on  the  other,  the  introduction 
had  to  be  made  three  times.  In  each  case  it  was 
about  the  same,  for  the  girls  copied  both  their 
mother's  attitude  and  her  words. 

But  all  were  frank  and  friendly  with  Robert,  ask 
ing  him  many  questions  about  the  places  they  had 
visited,  and  as  he  invariably  referred  some  part  of 
these  queries  to  Theodora,  she  was  drawn  unavoid 
ably  into  the  conversation.  Very  soon  the  desirt 
to  conquer  these  women  by  the  force  and  magnetism 
of  love  came  into  her  heart,  and  she  smiled  into 
their  dark,  cold  faces,  and  discoursed  with  such 
charming  grace  and  social  sympathy,  that  the  frost 
presently  began  to  thaw,  and  Isabel  found  herself 
asking  the  unwelcome  bride  all  kinds  of  questions 
about  their  travel,  and  saying  at  last  with  a  sigh: 
"  How  much  I  should  have  liked  to  have  been  with 
you!" 

"  I  am  sorry  you  were  not  with  us,"  answered 
Theodora,  "  but  we  shall  go  again  to  the  Mediter 
ranean — for  we  only  got  glimpses  of  places  and 
things,  and  must  know  them  better.  We  shall  go 
again,  shall  we  not,  Robert?  " 

Then   Robert   denied  all  his  promises   and  said: 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  79 

"  I  fear  not,  for  a  long  time.  Business  must  be 
attended  to." 

"  I  am  glad  you  are  regaining  your  senses,  Rob 
ert,"  said  his  mother.  "  Your  business  has  been 
dreadfully  neglected  for  more  than  half-a-year." 

"  It  has  taken  no  harm,  mother,  and  I  shall  double 
my  attention  now." 

"  I  hope  you  will — but  I  doubt  it." 

"  Dora,"  said  Christina,  "  may  I  call  you  Dora?  " 

"  Dora,  certainly,"  interrupted  Mrs.  Traquair 
Campbell.  "  Theodora  is  too  long  a  name  for  con 
versation.  Do  you  wish  any  more  ice?  Do  you, 
Isabel?" 

Theodora  was  confounded  by  such  rude  and  posi 
tive  ignoring.  The  question  had  been  addressed 
to  her,  and  referred  to  her  Christian  name — the  most 
personal  of  all  belongings.  Yet  it  had  been  per 
emptorily  decided  for  her  without  any  regard  to  her 
right  or  wish.  Her  cheeks  flushed  hotly,  and  she 
looked  at  her  husband.  Surely  he  would  spare  her 
the  distressing  position  of  denying  her  mother-in- 
law's  decision,  or  affirming  her  own.  But  Robert 
Campbell  was  as  one  that  heard  not.  His  eyes  were 
upon  his  plate,  and  he  was  embarrassed  even  in  the 
simple  act  of  eating.  At  that  moment  she  had 
almost  a  contempt  for  him.  But  seeing  that  he  did 
not  intend  to  interfere,  she  smiled  at  Christina,  and 
said: 

"  You  will  call  me  Dora,  I  suppose,  as  you  are 
bid  to  do  so,  and  when  I  feel  like  it,  I  shall  answer 
to  that  name.  When  I  do  not  feel  disposed  to 


80  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

answer  to  Dora,  I  shall  be  silent.  That  is,  you 
know,  my  privilege."  She  spoke  with  a  smile 
and  charming  manner,  and  then,  looking  at  her  hus 
band,  rose  from  the  table.  Robert  sauntered  after 
her,  making  some  remark  about  tea  to  his  mother 
as  he  passed  her. 

She  could  not  answer  him.  This  leave-taking, 
unauthorized  by  her  example,  stupefied  the  elder 
woman.  "  Do  you  see,  Isabel,"  she  cried,  "  what 
I  shall  have  to  endure?  " 

"  Dinner  was  really  finished,  mother." 
"  That  makes  no  difference !      No  one  has  a  right 
to  leave  the  table  until  I  rise.      I  consider  Dora's 
behavior  a  piece  of  impertinence." 

"  I  do  not  think  she  intended  it  to  be  impertinent." 
"  Her  intention  makes  no  difference.  No  one  has 
a  right  to  leave  my  table  until  I  set  the  example. 
And  if  Dora's  behavior  was  not  impertinent,  then 
it  was  stupid  ignorance,  and  I  shall  instruct  her  in 
the  decencies  of  respectable  life.  And  I  tell  you 
both  to  remember  that  her  name  is  Dora.  I  will 
have  no  Theodoras  here.  Fancy  people  going  about 
the  house  calling  '  The-o-do-ra.'  Ridiculous !  " 

"  Well,  mother,  I  ask  leave  to  say  that  I  should 
not  like  any  one  without  my  permission  to  call  me 
Bell,  nor  do  I  believe  Christina  would  care  to  be 
called  Kirsty.  And  I  really  think  Robert's  wife 
wished  to  be  agreeable,  and  even  friendly,  if  we  had 
encouraged  her.  Why  not  give  her  a  fair  trial? 
I  think  she  could  teach  Christina  and  myself  many 
things." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  81 

"  I  think  you  are  bewitched  as  well  as  your  brother. 
I  never  knew  you,  Isabel,  to  make  any  exceptions  to 
my  opinions — or  to  see  me  insulted  without  feeling 
a  proper  indignation  with  me." 

"Oh,  dear  mother,  you  are  mistaken!  The  day 
will  never  come  when  your  daughter  Isabel  will  not 
stand  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  you." 

"  I  am  sure  of  that.  I  wish  Christina  had  not 
asked  such  an  obtrusive  question.  I  had  to  answer 
it  as  I  did,  in  order  to  show  that  woman  that  we — 
in  our  own  home  here — would  call  her  just  what  we 
preferred  to  call  her,  without  let  or  hindrance;  yet 
I  wish  that  Christina  had  kept  her  foolish  question 
for  a  little  longer.  I  was  hardly  ready  for  active 
opposition.  It  is  premature.  Christina  always  in 
terferes  at  the  wrong  moment."  So  Christina, 
snubbed  and  blamed  for  her  malapropos  question, 
subsided  into  sullen  indifference  externally,  while 
inwardly  passing  on  the  blame  for  her  correction  to 
Theodora,  who,  she  decided,  was  going  to  be  un 
lucky  to  her. 

In  the  meantime  Robert  had  walked  with  his  wife 
to  the  parlor  door  of  their  own  apartments,  but  he 
did  not  enter  with  her.  "  I  am  going  to  leave  you 
half-an-hour,  Dora,"  he  said.  "  I  wish  to  smoke  a 
cigar  in  the  library." 

"  I  should  like  to  go  with  you,  Robert,  as  I  have 
always  done.  I  enjoy  good  tobacco." 

"  Walking  on  some  lovely  balcony,  overlooking 
the  Mediterranean,  it  was  pleasant;  but  here  it  is 
not  the  thing.  If  you  went  with  me,  I  might  have 


82  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

the  whole  family,  as  the  library,  like  the  dining- 
room,  is  common  ground.  Circumstances  alter  cases, 
Dora.  You  know  that,  my  dear!  I  will  return 
in  half-an-hour." 

She  had  a  slight  struggle  with  herself  to  answer 
pleasantly,  but  that  free  and  loving  thing,  the  human 
soul,  was  in  Theodora's  case  under  kind  but  positive 
control,  so  she  replied  with  a  smile: 

"  As  you  wish,  dear  Robert — yet  I  shall  miss  you." 

She  was  alone  in  her  splendid  rooms,  and  her 
heart  fell.  The  day  had  been  a  hard  one.  From 
the  moment  they  left  Kendal,  Robert  had  been  dis 
agreeably  silent.  He  knew  that  he  was  going  home 
to  a  struggle  with  his  family,  and  he  dreaded  the 
experience.  Had  it  been  a  struggle  with  business 
difficulties  he  would  have  risen  bravely  to  its  de 
mands.  A  dispute  with  women  irritated  him.  In 
his  thoughts  he  called  it  "  trivial."  But  had  he 
known  all  that  such  a  dispute  generally  involves, 
he  would  have  sought  out  for  it  the  most  porten 
tous  and  distracting  word  in  all  the  languages  of 
earth. 

So  Theodora  left  to  herself  sat  down  with  a  sink 
ing  heart.  The  change  in  her  husband's  temper 
troubled  her;  the  total  absence  of  all  human  welcome 
to  her  new  home  troubled  her  still  more.  The  occu 
pation  of  her  rooms  by  strangers,  the  rifling  of  her 
trunks,  the  half-quarrelsome  dinner,  the  despotic 
changing  of  her  name  might  be — as  compared  with 
death,  accident,  or  ruin — "  trivial  "  troubles,  but  she 
was  poignantly  wounded  in  her  feelings  by  them. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  83 

And  their  crowning  grief  was  one  she  hardly  dared 
to  remember — her  husband's  failure  to  defend  the 
name  he  had  so  often  passionately  sworn  he  loved 
better  than  all  other  names.  True,  she  had  per 
mitted  him  to  call  her  Dora,  but  that  was  a  secret, 
sacred,  pet  name,  to  be  used  between  themselves, 
and  by  that  very  understanding  denied  to  all  others. 

She  could  not  but  admit  to  herself  that  she  was 
bitterly  disappointed  in  her  home-coming.  She  had 
thought  Robert's  mother  and  sisters  would  meet  her 
on  the  threshold  with  kisses  and  words  of  welcome. 
She  had  yet  to  learn  the  paucity  of  kisses  and  tender  • 
words  in  a  Scotch  household.  The  fact  is  general, 
but  the  causes  for  this  familiar  repression  are  various, 
and  may  be  either  good  or  evil.  Theodora  felt  them 
in  her  case  to  be  altogether  unkind.  What  could 
she  do  about  it?  There  was  the  perilous  luxury  of 
complaint  to  her  husband  and  there  was  her  father's 
lifelong  advice :  "  Shut  up  a  trouble  in  your  heart, 
and  you  will  soon  sing  over  it."  Which  course 
should  she  take?  She  was  waiting  for  a  true  in 
stinct,  a  clear,  lawful  perception,  when  Robert  en 
tered  the  room. 

She  looked  up  with  a  smile  that  brought  him 
swiftly  to  her  side,  and  when  he  spoke  kindly,  all 
her  fearing  discontent  slipped  away.  Very  soon 
their  conversation  turned  naturally  to  their  apart 
ments.  Robert  was  proud  of  them,  not  so  much 
for  the  money  lavished  on  their  adornment,  as  for 
the  taste  he  thought  himself  to  have  shown.  Going 
here  and  there  in  them,  he  happened  to  find,  on  a 


84  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

beautiful  cabinet,  an  old  curl  paper  and  a  couple  of 
bent  hairpins. 

"  Look  here,  Dora,"  he  said,  and  his  voice  was 
so  full  of  displeasure,  that  she  rose  hastily  and  went 
to  him. 

"  What  kind  of  maid  have  you  hired?  She  ought 
to  know  better  than  to  leave  these  things  in  your 
parlor." 

"  And  you  ought  to  know  better,  Robert,"  was 
the  indignant  answer,  "  than  to  suppose  these  things 
belong  to  me.  Do  I  ever  put  my  hair  in  newspaper 
twists?  Do  I  ever  fasten  it  with  dirty,  rusty,  wire 
pins  like  these?  " 

"  Then  tell  Ducie  to  keep  her  pins  and  curl  papers 
in  her  own  room." 

"  They  are  not  Ducie's.  She  would  not  put  such 
dreadful  things  in  her  pretty  hair." 

"  How  do  they  come  here,  then?  " 

"  I  suppose  the  people  who  have  been  occupying 
these  rooms  left  them." 

"  No  one  has  occupied  these  rooms  since  they  were 
redecorated  and  refurnished." 

"  You  are  mistaken,  Robert.  They  have  been 
fully  occupied  for  the  last  three  weeks." 

"  Dora,  what  are  you  saying?  " 

"  The  truth !  Call  any  of  your  servants,  and  they 
will  tell  you  so." 

Without  further  words  he  rang  the  bell,  and 
Ducie  appeared.  "  Ducie,"  he  asked,  "  who  told 
you  there  had  been  people  staying  in  these  rooms?  " 

"The  kitchen,  sir;  that  is,  the  men  and  women 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  85 

in  the  kitchen.  I  was  taken  all  aback,  for  my  lady 
had  told  me " 

"  Do  you  know  who  the  people  were?  " 

"  Mrs.  and  Miss  Crawford,  Mrs.  Laird  and  her 
granddaughter,  Miss  Greenhill." 

"  Oh,  they  were  relations,  Dora,"  he  said  in  a 
voice  which  indicated  they  had  a  right  there,  and 
that  he  was  neither  grieved  nor  astonished  at  their 
invasion  of  his  apartments. 

"  If  you  please,  sir,"  interposed  Ducie,  "  my  lady's 
trunks  were  all  opened  by  Mrs.  Crawford  and  the 
rest.  It  gave  me  such  a  turn !  " 

"  The  rest?     Who  do  you  mean?  " 

"  Miss  Crawford,  Mrs.  Laird,  and  Miss  Green- 
hill." 

"  Then  give  the  ladies  their  proper  names." 

"  Yes,  sir,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Crawford,  Mrs.  Laird, 
and  Miss  Greenhill  have  opened  and  ransacked  all 
the  four  trunks  belonging  to  my  lady,  which  were 
sent  on  here  directly  after  her  marriage.  She  had 
given  me  the  keys  of  them,  and  when  I  saw  them 
open  it  fairly  took  my  breath  away.  I  am  afraid 
many  things  are  destroyed,  and  some  things  that 
cost  no  end  of  money  stolen.  Not  liking  to  be 
blamed  for  the  same,  I  wish  the  matter  looked 
into." 

"  Stolen !  You  should  be  careful  how  you  use 
such  a  word." 

"  Sir,  excuse  me,  but  people  who  open  locked 
trunks,  and  use  and  destroy  what  is  not  theirs  are 
just  as  likely  as  not  to  carry  off  what  they  want. 


86  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

My  character  is  in  danger,  sir.  I  wish  the  trunks 
examined." 

"  I  suppose  you  have  been  through  them." 

"  No,  indeed,  sir.  When  my  lady  went  to  her 
dinner,  I  called  in  one  of  the  kitchen  girls.  I  wanted 
a  witness  that  I  had  never  touched  them." 

"  How  dare  you  make  such  charges,  then?  " 

"  Ask  my  lady." 

"  Dora,  is  there  any  truth  in  this  girl's  words?" 

"  I  fear  she  speaks  too  truly,  Robert.  I  have 
only  looked  cursorily  through  one  trunk,  but  I  found 
much  fine  clothing  spoiled,  and  I  fear  some  jewelry 
gone.  The  ruby  and  sapphire  ring  given  me  by 
my  college  history  class  as  a  wedding  gift  is  not  in 
the  jewel  case  it  was  packed  in,  and  my  turquoise 
necklace  was  scattered  among  my  neckwear.  It 
ought  to  have  been  in  the  jewel  box." 

"  Perhaps  you  forgot  in  the  hurry  of  packing 
where  you  put  it." 

"  I  was  not  hurried.  Those  four  trunks  were  all 
leisurely  and  carefully  packed,  and  the  day  we  left 
Kendal  for  Paris " 

'  You  mean  our  wedding-day?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Then  why  do  you  avoid  saying  so !  " 

"  I  do  not,  but  on  that  same  day  these  four  trunks 
were  forwarded  here.  If  you  remember,  I  only  took 
one  trunk  on  our — wedding  journey.  I  supposed 
these  four  would  be  quite  safe  in  this  house.  But 
look  here,  Robert,"  she  continued,  lifting  a  set  of 
valuable  ermine  furs,  "  these  were  given  me  by  Mrs. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  87 

Priestley.  They  were  of  the  most  exquisite  purity, 
but  they  look  now  as  if  they  had  been  dipped  in  a 
light  solution  of  Indian  ink." 

"  The  Glasgow  rain,"  he  answered  carelessly. 
"  Ducie,  I  do  not  think  we  shall  blame  you." 

"  Sir,  I  will  take  no  blame,  either  about  things 
spoiled,  or  stolen." 

"  There  is  no  question  of  theft.  If  the  ladies 
using  these  rooms  for  a  day  or  two " 

"  For  three  weeks,  sir." 

"  Used  also  some  clothing  found  in  the 
rooms " 

"  Not  found,  sir,  I  beg  pardon,  but  locked  trunks 
were  opened  for  them,  which  the  men  in  the  kitchen 
say  is  clear  burglary — perhaps  wishing  to  frighten 
me,  sir.  But  this  way,  or  that  way,  sir,  things  have 
been  ruined  that  cost  no  end  of  money,  and  when 
I  saw  my  lady's  spoiled  gowns  and  furs,  and  broken 
jewelry,  they  fairly  took  my  breath  away!  Yes, 
sir,  they  did." 

"  You  may  go  now,  Ducie." 

"  I  cannot  and  will  not  be  blamed,  sir,  and  I  want 
that  fact  clear." 

"  You  may  go,  now.  I  have  told  you  that  once 
before.  If  I  have  to  tell  you  again,  you  can  leave 
the  house  altogether." 

"  Ducie,"  said  Theodora,  "  I  wish  you  would  look 
after  clean  linen  for  the  beds  and  dressing  tables." 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  the  linen,  Dora?  " 

"  It  is  not  clean.  It  looks  as  if  it  had  been  used 
for  two  or  three  weeks." 


88  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Are  you  sure?  " 

"  Look  at  it !  I  can  do  without  many  things, 
Robert,  but  I  cannot  do  without  clean  linen." 

"  Of  course  not !  It  is  awfully  provoking.  I 
tried  so  hard  to  have  everything  spotlessly  clean  and 

comfortable,  but "  He  turned  away  with  an  air 

of  angry  disappointment. 

Dora  went  to  his  side  and  praised  again  all  he 
had  done.  She  said  she  would  forget  all  that  was 
spoiled,  or  broken,  or  stolen  for  his  sake,  and  for 
sweet  love's  sake,  and  she  emphasized  all  her  tender 
words  with  kisses  and  endearing  names. 

And  she  found,  as  many  women  find,  that  the 
more  she  renounced  her  just  displeasure  and  chagrin 
the  harder  it  was  to  conciliate  her  husband's. 
Whether  he  enjoyed  Dora's  efforts  to  comfort  him, 
or  was  really  of  that  childish  temper  which  gets 
more  and  more  injured,  as  it  is  more  and  more  con 
soled,  it  was  at  this  stage  of  her  married  life  im 
possible  for  Theodora  to  decide.  However,  in  a 
little  while  he  condescended  to  forgive  Theodora  for 
the  annoyances  others  had  caused  him,  and  said:  "  It 
is  later  than  I  thought  it.  We  have  forgotten  tea." 

"  I  do  not  want  any." 

"  I  am  going  to  speak  to  mother.  Shall  I  send 
you  a  cup?  " 

"  No,  thank  you.    Do  not  stop  long,  Robert." 

She  went  to  the  window  and  looked  out  into  the 
dreary  night.  A  heavy  rain  was  falling,  and  not 
a  star  was  visible  in  that  muffled  atmosphere.  Sor 
rowful  feelings  pervaded  all  her  thoughts,  and  she 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  89 

asked  her  soul  eagerly  for  some  password  out  of 
the  tangle  of  small  trials,  which  like  brambles  made 
her  path  difficult  and  painful.  For  the  circum 
stances  in  which  she  so  suddenly  found  herself,  con 
founded  and  troubled  her.  Had  Robert  deceived 
her?  Had  she  been  deceived  in  Robert? 

It  was,  however,  a  consciousness  of  having  fallen 
below  herself,  which  hurt  her  worst  of  all.  She 
had  made  concessions,  where  concession  was  wrong; 
she  had  made  apologies  for  her  husband,  whereas 
he  ought  to  have  made  them  to  her. 

"  I  have  been  weak,"  she  whispered  to  her  Inner 
Woman,  and  that  truthful  monitor  replied: 

"  To  be  weak  is  to  be  wicked." 

"  I  have  resigned  my  just  rights  and  my  just 
anger." 

"And  so  have  encouraged  others  to  be  unjust  and 
unkind,  and  to  sin  against  you." 

"  And  I  have  gained  nothing  by  my  cowardly  self- 
sacrifice." 

"  Nothing  but  humiliation  and  suffering,  which 
you  deserve." 

"What  can  I  do?" 

"  Retrace  your  first  wrong  step,  in  order  to  take 
your  first  right  step." 

Ere  this  mental  catechism  was  finished,  Ducie  en 
tered  the  rooms  with  her  arms  full  of  clean  linen, 
and  Theodora  said:  "  I  see  you  have  got  the  linen, 
Ducie.  Make  up  my  bed  first." 

"  Got  it !  Yes,  ma'am,  after  a  fight  for  it.  The 
chambermaid  was  willing  enough,  but  madame  held 


90  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

the  keys,  and  madame  said  the  beds  had  been 
changed  four  days  ago,  and  she  would  not  have 
them  changed  but  once  a  week.  I  refused  to  go 
away,  and  the  girl  went  back  to  her,  and  was  ordered 
to  leave  the  room.  Then  I  went,  and  told  her  that 
whether  she  was  willing  or  unwilling  I  had  to  have 
clean  linen,  as  the  beds  had  been  stripped,  and  Mr. 
Campbell  wanted  to  go  to  sleep,  and  Mrs.  Camp 
bell  had  a  headache.  Then  she  flew  into  a  passion, 
and  I  do  not  think  I  durst  have  stayed  in  her  pres 
ence  longer,  but  Mr.  Campbell  was  heard  coming, 
so  she  flung  the  keys  to  one  of  the  young  ladies, 
and  told  her  to  '  see  to  it.'  Then  I  had  a  fresh 
fight  for  pillow-cases,  and  covers  for  the  dressing 
tables,  and  I  was  told  to  remember  that  I  would  get 
no  more  linen  for  a  week.  '  Fresh  linen  once  a  week 
is  the  rule  in  this  house,'  the  young  lady  said,  '  and 
no  rules  will  be  broken  for  Mrs.  Robert.  You  can 
tell  her  Miss  Campbell  said  so.' ' 

"  Well,  Ducie,  we  must  look  out  for  ourselves. 
I  will  buy  linen  to-morrow,  and  then  we  can  change 
every  day  in  the  week,  if  we  want  to." 

Robert  had  been  requested  not  to  stay  long,  but 
his  interview  with  his  mother  proved  to  be  both  long 
and  stormy.  The  old  lady  had  felt  the  irritation  of 
the  dinner  table,  and  though  she  herself  was  wholly 
to  blame  for  its  quarrelsome  atmosphere,  she  was 
not  influenced  by  a  truth  she  chose  to  ignore.  Ever 
since  dinner  she  had  been  talking  to  her  daughters 
of  Theodora,  and  her  smouldering  dislike  was  now 
a  flaming  one.  The  application  for  clean  linen  had 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  91 

made  her  furious,  and  she  was  scolding  about  it 
when  Robert  entered  the  room.  But  he  knew  before 
he  opened  the  door  of  his  mother's  parlor  what  he 
had  to  meet,  and  the  dormant  demon  of  his  own 
temper  roused  itself  for  the  encounter.  He  went 
into  her  presence  with  a  face  like  a  thundercloud, 
and  asked  angrily: 

"  Why  did  you  let  any  one — I  say  any  one — into 
my  rooms,  mother?  I  think  their  occupancy  with 
out  my  permission  a  scandalous  piece  of  business." 

"  Keep  your  temper,  Robert  Campbell,  for  your 
wife.  She  will  need  it,  I  warrant." 

"  Answer  my  question,  if  you  please!  " 

"  Well,  then,  if  it  is  scandalous  to  entertain  your 
kindred,  it  would  have  been  much  more  scandalous 
to  have  turned  them  out  of  the  house." 

"  Kindred!  It  is  a  far  cry  to  call  kindred  with 
that  Crawford  and  Laird  crowd.  I  will  not  have 
them  here!  Take  notice  of  that." 

"  They  will  come  here  when  they  come  to  Glas 
gow." 

"  Then  I  shall  turn  them  out." 

"  Then  I  shall  go  out  with  them." 

"  My  rooms " 

"  Preserve  us !  No  harm  has  been  done  to  your 
rooms." 

"  They  have  been  defiled  in  every  way — old  curl 
papers,  dirty  hairpins,  stains  on  the  carpets  and 
covers.  I  burn  with  shame  when  I  think  of  my  wife 
seeing  their  vulgar  remains." 

"Your  wife?     Your  wife,  indeed!      She  is " 


92  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  I  don't  want  your  opinion  of  my  wife." 

"You  born  idiot!      What  do  you  want?" 

"  I  want  you  to  write  to  the  women  who  opened 
my  wife's  trunks,  and  ruined  her  clothing,  and  stole 
her  jewelry,  or  I " 

"  Don't  you  dare  to  throw  (  or '  at  me.  I  can 
say  '  or '  as  big  as  you.  What  before  earth  and 
heaven  are  you  saying !  " 

"  That  my  rooms  have  been  entered,  my  wife's 
trunks  broken  open " 

"You  have  said  that  once  already!  I  had  the 
Dalkeiths  in  my  spare  rooms.  Was  I  to  turn  the 
Crawfords  and  the  Lairds  on  to  the  sidewalk  because 
your  rooms  had  been  refurnished  for  Dora  New 
ton?" 

"  Campbell  is  my  wife's  name." 

"  I  thank  God  your  kindred  had  the  first  use  of 
your  rooms !  You  ought  to  be  glad  of  the  circum 
stance.  And  pray,  what  harm  is  there  in  opening 
a  bride's  trunks?  " 

"  Only  burglary." 

"  Don't  be  a  tenfold  fool.  A  bride's  costumes  are 
always  examined  by  her  women  kin  and  friends.  My 
trunks  were  all  opened  by  the  Campbells  before  your 
father  brought  me  home.  Every  Scotch  bride  ex 
pects  it,  and  if  you  have  married  a  poor,  silly  Eng 
lish  girl,  who  knows  nothing  of  the  ways  and 
manners  of  your  native  country,  I  am  not  to 
blame." 

"  Let  me  tell  you " 

"  Let  me  finish,  sir.     I  wish  to  say  there  was  noth- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  93 

ing  in  Dora  Newton's  trunks  worth  looking  at — 
home-made  gowns,  and  the  like." 

"  Yet  two  of  them  have  been  worn  and  ruined." 

"  Jean  Crawford  and  Bell  Greenhill  wore  them 
a  few  times.  They  wanted  to  go  to  the  theatre  or 
somewhere,  and  had  not  brought  evening  gowns  with 
them.  I  told  them  to  wear  some  of  Dora's  things. 
Why  not?  She  is  in  the  family  now,  more's  the 
pity." 

"  They  had  no  right  to  touch  them." 

"  I'm  sure  I  wish  they  had  not  worn  them.  Jean 
and  Bell  are  stylish-looking  girls  in  their  own  gowns. 
Dora's  made  them  look  dowdy  and  common.  I  was 
fairly  sorry  for  them." 

"Which  of  them  wore  Theodora's  ring?  That 
ring  must  come  back — must,  I  say.  Understand  me, 
mother,  it  must  come  back." 

"  If  it  is  lost- 

"  It  will  be  a  case  for  the  police — sure  as 
death !  " 

The  oath  frightened  her.  "  You  have  lost  your 
senses,  Robert,"  she  cried;  "  you  are  fairly  bewitched. 
And  oh,  what  a  miserable  woman  I  am !  Both  my 
lads !  "  and  she  covered  her  face  with  her  handker 
chief,  and  began  to  sigh  and  sob  bitterly. 

Then  Isabel  went  to  her  mother's  side,  and  as  she 
did  so  said  with  scornful  anger: 

"  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself,  Robert 
Campbell.  You  have  nearly  broken  your  mother's 
heart  by  your  disgraceful  marriage.  Can  you  not 
make  Dora  behave  decently,  and  not  turn  the  old 


94  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

home  and  our  poor  simple  lives  upside  down,  with 
all  she  requires?  " 

"  Isabel,  do  you  think  it  was  right  to  put  people 
in  the  rooms  I  had  spent  so  much  time  and  money 
in  furnishing?  " 

"  Quite  right,  seeing  the  people  were  our  own 
kindred.  It  was  not  right  to  spend  all  the  time  and 
money  you  spent  on  those  rooms  for  a  stranger. 
You  ought  to  be  glad  some  of  your  own  family  got 
a  little  pleasure  in  them  first  of  all." 

"  They  did  not  know  how  to  use  them.  Both 
the  Crawfords  and  Lairds  are  vulgar,  common,  and 
uneducated  women.  They  know  nothing  of  the 
decencies  of  life." 

"  That  may  be  true,  but  they  are  mother's  kin, 
and  blood  is  thicker  than  water.  The  Crawfords 
and  Lairds  are  blood-kin;  Dora  is  only  water." 

"  Theodora  is  my  wife.  I  see  that  mother  will 
no  longer  listen  to  me.  Try  and  convince  her  that 
I  am  in  earnest.  My  rooms  are  my  rooms,  and  no 
one  comes  into  them  unless  they  are  invited  by  Theo 
dora  or  myself.  My  wife's  clothing  and  ornaments 
of  all  kinds  belong  to  my  wife,  and  not  to  the  whole 
family.  Write  to  Jean  Crawford,  and  Bell  Green- 
hill,  and  tell  them  to  return  all  they  have  taken,  or 
I  shall  make  them  do  so." 

"  I  suppose,  Robert,  they  have  only  borrowed 
whatever  they  have.  They  often  borrow  my  rings 
and  brooches  and  even  my  dresses." 

"  Isabel,  when  people  borrow  even  a  ring,  without 
the  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  owner,  the  law 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  95 

calls  it  stealing;  and  the  person  who  has  so  borrowed 
it,  the  law  calls  a  thief.  I  hope  you  understand  me." 

He  was  leaving  the  room  when  his  mother  sobbed 
out:  "Oh,  Robert,  Robert!  " 

For  a  moment  he  hesitated;  then  he  went  to  her 
side  and  asked:  "  What  is  it  you  wish,  mother?  " 

"  I  did  not  mean — to  hurt  you — I  was  brought 
up  so  different.  I  thought  it  would  be  all  right — 
with  you — that  you,  at  least — would  understand.  I 
expected  you  knew — all  about  the  marriage  customs 
— you  are  Scotch.  Oh,  dear,  dear!  My  poor  heart 
—will  break!" 

He  touched  her  hand  kindly  and  answered: 
"  Well,  do  not  cry,  mother,  I  will  say  no  more  about 
it.  Good-night." 

"Good  (sob)  night  (sob),  Robert!" 

But  as  soon  as  the  door  closed,  the  furious  woman 
flung  down  her  handkerchief  in  a  rage,  saying  in 
low,  passionate  tones :  "  You  see,  girls !  When  you 
can't  reason  with  a  man,  can't  touch  his  brain,  you 
may  try  crying  about  him,  for  perhaps  he  has  some 
thing  he  calls  a  heart." 

Returning  to  his  own  apartments  Robert  found 
that  the  lights  had  been  lowered  and  that  Theodora 
was  apparently  asleep.  He  stood  looking  at  her  a 
few  minutes,  but  decided  not  to  awaken  her.  She 
would,  he  thought,  want  to  know  all  that  had  been 
said  and  he  was  tired  of  the  subject.  His  mother's 
tears  had  washed  all  color  and  vitality  out  of  it. 
She  believed  herself  to  be  right  and  from  her  point 
of  view  he  admitted  she  was.  He  told  himself  that 


96  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

Theodora  did  not  comprehend  the  wonderful  com 
plexity  of  the  Scotch  character — he  must  try  and 
teach  her.  And  as  for  her  destroyed,  or  lost  adorn 
ments,  they  could  be  replaced.  Of  course  money 
would  be,  as  it  were,  lost  in  such  replacement,  but 
it  would  be  a  good  lesson,  and  lessons  of  all  kinds 
take  money.  Thus,  by  a  new  road,  he  had  come 
back  to  the  usual  Campbell  appreciation  of  the 
Campbells,  for  though  he  was  keenly  alive  to  the 
individual  defects  of  that  large  family  he  was  at 
the  same  time  conscious  of  their  superiority  to  the 
rest  of  the  world. 

In  the  morning  he  began  to  give  Theodora  the 
lesson  he  had  himself  absorbed.  He  told  her  that 
it  was  some  of  their  own  relatives  who  had  occupied 
the  rooms,  and  then  explained  the  wonderful  strength 
of  the  family  tie  in  Scotch  families.  "  I  think,"  he 
added,  "  that  under  the  circumstances,  mother  did 
the  only  possible  thing." 

"  And  the  opening  of  my  trunks,  Robert  dear,  and 
the  use  of  my  clothing,  is  that  also  a  result  of  the 
Scotch  family  tie?  " 

"  Yes-s,"  he  answered  with  easy  composure,  "  they 
looked  on  you  as  one  of  us  and  supposed  you  would 
gladly  loan  what  they  needed.  Isabel  says  they 
often  borrow  her  brooches  and  rings  and  gowns. 
Moreover,  mother  informed  me,  that  it  is  the  com 
mon  custom  to  open  a  bride's  trunks,  and  examine 
her  belongings." 

"  A  very  rude  and  barbarous  custom,  I  think, 
Robert,  and  it  makes  no  excuse  for  an  infringement 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  97 

of  manifest  courtesy  and  kindness.  And  I  am  sure 
that  every  one  can  forgive  an  injury,  easier  than  an 
infringement  of  their  rights." 

"  You  must  try  and  look  at  the  matter  reasonably, 
dear  Dora." 

"  You  mean  unreasonably,  Robert,  but  if  you  do 
not  care,  why  should  I?"  Robert  made  no  reply, 
but  went  on  examining  his  fingernails,  apparently 
without  noticing  the  look  of  pained  surprise  in  his 
wife's  eyes,  nor  yet  the  far  deeper  sign  of  distress 
— that  dumb  lip-biting  which  indicates  an  intensity 
of  outraged  feeling. 

This  was  Theodora's  first  lesson  in  the  complexi 
ties  of  the  Scotch  character,  and  it  was  a  dear  one. 
It  cost  her  many  illusions,  many  hopes,  and  some 
secret  tears.  And  the  gain  was  doubtful.  Nature 
knows  how  to  profit  from  every  shower  of  rain,  every 
glint  of  sunshine,  every  drop  of  dew;  but  which  of 
us  ever  learn  from  any  past  experience,  how  to  pre 
pare  a  future  that  will  give  us  what  we  desire? 

During  the  night  she  had  plumbed  the  depths  of 
depression,  but  in  a  short  deep  morning  sleep,  she 
had  found  the  strength  to  possess  her  soul,  not  in 
patience,  but  in  a  sweet,  firm  resistance.  She  would 
accept  cheerfully  the  lot  she  had  chosen,  for  to  bear 
dumbly  and  passively  the  many  petty  wrongs  which 
ill-temper  and  dislike  must  bring  her  would  only 
tempt  those  who  hated  her  to  a  continuance  and 
enlargement  of  their  sin.  Every  one,  even  her  hus 
band,  would  despise  her,  and  she  suddenly  remem 
bered  how  God,  when  He  would  reason  with  Job, 


98  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

bid  him  rise  from  his  dunghill,  stand  upon  his  feet, 
and  answer  Him  like  a  man.  So,  she  would  submit 
to  no  injustice,  nor  suffer  without  contradiction  any 
lying  accusation,  yet  her  weapons  of  defence  should 
be  kind  and  clean,  and  her  victory  won  by  love  and 
truth  and  honor — for  in  this  way  she  herself  would 
rise  by 

— "  the  things  put  under  her  feet, 
By  what  she  mastered  of  good  and  gain, 
By  the  pride  deposed,  by  the  passion  slain, 
And  the  'vanquished  ills  she  would  hourly  meet." 

The  prospect  of  such  a  victory  made  her  heart  swell 
with  a  noble  joy,  for  thus  she  would  be  creating  her 
spiritual  self,  and  so  being  God-like  be  also  loved  of 
God. 

Her  first  effort  was  to  compel  herself  to  go  to  the 
breakfast  table.  She  wished  to  have  Ducie  bring 
her  a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  couple  of  rolls  to  her  room, 
but  that  would  only  be  shirking  the  inevitable.  So 
she  went  to  the  family  table  smiling,  and  almost 
radiant  in  a  pretty  pink  gown,  and  beautiful  white 
muslin  neckwear.  Her  manner  was  cheerful  and 
conciliatory,  but  it  utterly  failed,  because  the  old  lady 
believed  it  to  be  the  result  of  orders  from  her  son. 
She  was  sure  Robert  had  seen  the  reasonableness 
of  her  conduct,  and  told  Theodora  to  accept  the 
circumstances  as  unavoidable,  and  perhaps  even  ex 
cusable. 

So  in  spite  of  her  smiles  and  efforts  at  conversa 
tion,  the  meal  was  silent  and  unhappy  and  towards 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  99 

the  end  really  distressing.  It  had  begun  with  oat 
meal  porridge  served  on  large  dinner  plates,  and  she 
had  accepted  her  share  without  remark,  though  un 
able  to  eat  it.  But  later,  when  a  dish  of  boiled  salt 
herring  appeared,  its  peculiar  odor  made  her  so  sick 
that  it  was  with  painful  difficulty  she  sat  through 
the  meal.  Robert  noticed  her  white  face  and  general 
air  of  distress,  and  slightly  hurried  his  own  meal  in 
consequence. 

"Are  you  ill,  Dora?"  he  asked,  when  she  fell 
nauseated  and  limp  among  the  sofa  cushions. 

"  It  was  the  smell  of  the  salt  fish,  Robert.  I 
could  not  conquer  it." 

"  But  you  must  try.  We  have  boiled  salt  herring 
every  morning.  I  do  not  remember  a  breakfast 
without  them." 

"  Then,  dear  Robert,  I  must  have  a  cup  of  coffee 
in  my  dressing-room." 

"  You  might  learn  to  bear  the  smell." 

"  The  ordeal  would  be  too  wasteful  of  life." 

»  I  don't  see " 

"  No  one  can  afford  a  disagreeable  breakfast,  Rob 
ert.  It  spoils  the  whole  day.  And  I  might  waste 
weeks  and  months  trying  to  like  the  odor  of  boiled 
salt  herring,  and  never  succeed — it  is  sickening  to 
me." 

"  It  does  not  make  me  sick.  I  have  had  a  boiled 
salt  herring  to  breakfast  ever  since  I  was  seven  years 
old." 

"  You  have  learned  to  bear  them." 

"  I  like  them." 


ioo  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Did  you  like  them  at  first?  " 

"  No,  but  I  was  made  to  eat  them  until  at  last  I 
learned  to  relish  them.  Mother  believed  them  to 
be  good  for  me.  Now,  I  do  not  think  my  breakfast 
perfect  without  a  boiled  salt  herring." 

"  We  can  force  nature  to  take,  and  even  enjoy 
poisons  like  whiskey  and  opium,  but  I  think  such  an 
education  sinful  and  unclean." 

"  Dora,  you  are  too  fastidious." 

"  No,  because  a  wronged  body  means  something 
to  a  sensitive  soul." 

"If  you  look  at  such  a  small  thing  in  a  light  so 
important,  you  had  better  take  your  breakfast  alone. 
Good-morning!  " 


CHAPTER  IV 

FOES  IN  THE  HOUSEHOLD 

SHE  was  ill  for  some  hours,  and  all  day  much 
troubled  at  the  circumstance.  In  her  proposed  fight 
against  the  hatred  of  her  husband's  family  she  had 
lost  the  first  move,  for  she  could  well  imagine  the 
triumphant  mockery  of  her  mother-in-law  over  her 
weakness  and  squeamishness.  In  the  afternoon  she 
asked  for  the  carriage,  as  she  wished  to  do  some 
shopping,  and  was  told  Mrs.  Campbell  was  intend 
ing  to  use  it.  Then  she  sent  for  a  cab  and  while 
she  was  dressing,  Christina  came  into  her  room  wear 
ing  her  street  costume. 

"  Isabel  is  going  out  with  mother,"  she  said. 
"  Can  I  go  with  you,  Theodora?  " 

The  proposal  was  not  welcome,  but  without  hesi 
tation  Theodora  answered:  "I  shall  be  obliged  if 
you  will.  I  have  some  shopping  to  do,  and  you 
can  tell  me  the  best  places  to  go  to." 

"  I  certainly  can;  I  know  all  the  best  shops.  I 
always  do  the  shopping.  I  like  to  shop ;  Isabel  hates 
it.  She  says  the  shopmen  are  not  civil  to  her.  Isa 
bel  is  so  particular  about  her  dignity." 

"  That  is  rather  a  good  quality,  is  it  not?  " 

"  I  don't  know — with  that  kind  of  people — shop 
men  and  the  like — it  is  rather  a  daft  thing  to  do." 

"Daft?" 

101 


IO2  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Silly,  I  mean.  They  have  to  wait  on  you,  why 
should  you  care  how  they  do  it?  I  don't." 

"  I  am  ready.      Shall  we  go  now?  " 

"  I  am  ready.     What  will  you  buy  first?  " 

"  Linen — sheets,  pillow-cases,  table-cloths,  napkins, 
etc.  We  shall  want  a  linen  draper." 

"  Then  tell  cabby  to  drive  us  to  Smith  and  Mc 
Donald's.  It  is  perfectly  lovely  to  be  with  you,  and 
without  mother  and  Isabel  to  snub  me.  I  feel  as  if 
I  were  having  a  holiday." 

"  Perhaps  I  might  snub  you." 

"  I  am  sure  you  will  not.  I  believe  I  am  going 
to  have  a  happy  afternoon." 

And  she  really  had  a  few  hours  that  perfectly 
delighted  her.  Theodora  asked  her  advice,  and  fre 
quently  took  it.  Theodora  bought  her  gloves  and 
lace,  and  after  the  shopping  was  finished,  they  went 
into  McLeod's  confectionery  and  had  ices  and  cakes, 
lemonade  and  caramels.  For  once  in  her  life,  Chris 
tina  had  felt  herself  to  be  well-informed  and  im 
portant.  She  had  told  several  funny  stories  also, 
and  Theodora  had  laughed  and  enjoyed  them;  in 
deed,  she  felt  as  if  Theodora  considered  her  quite 
clever. 

"  I  have  had  such  a  jolly  afternoon,"  she  said  as 
they  parted.  "  Thank  you  for  taking  me  with  you ! 
I  cannot  tell  you  how  happy  I  have  been." 

But  to  Isabel's  queries,  she  answered  with  an  air 
of  ennui :  "  You  know  well,  Isabel,  what  shopping 
means.  We  went  here  and  there,  and  bought  linen 
of  all  kinds,  and  wine  and  cakes,  and  then  we  went 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  103 

to  the  large  furniture  store,  and  selected  a  bookcase; 
for  it  seems  that  Robert,  with  all  his  carefulness,  for 
got  one." 

"Did  you  like  her?" 

"  She  is  good-natured  enough.  Everywhere  we 
went  the  shopmen  fell  over  each  other  to  wait  on  her. 
My!  but  it  is  a  grand  thing  to  be  beautiful." 

"  Do  you  really  think  her  beautiful?  " 

"  Every  one  else  does.  It  matters  little  what  the 
Traquair  Campbells  think.  She  is  rather  saucy, 
but  she  is  so  pleasant  about  it  you  can't  take  offence." 

"  Was  she  saucy  to  you?  " 

"  Yes." 

"What  did  she  say?" 

"  She  said  she  would  be  much  obliged  if  I  would 
tap  at  the  door  before  entering  her  room." 

"  The  idea !  " 

"  Oh,  she  is  nice  enough !  I  wish  mother  was 
not  so  set  against  her.  I  know  she  plays  and  sings, 
and  I  adore  good  music." 

'  You  will  be  adoring  her  next." 

"  No,  I  will  not,  but  I  intend  to  use  her  when 
I  can." 

"What  for?" 

"  To  give  me  a  little  pleasure — to  show  me  how 
to  dress — to  lend  me  books  and  music,  and  take  me 
with  her  when  she  goes  calling  and  shopping." 

"  I  would  not  receive  such  favors  from  a  person 
mother  disliked  so  much." 

"  Mother  never  finds  any  one  she  likes,  except  the 
Campbelton  people — frowsy,  vulgar  things,  all  of 


104  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

them;  and  I  do  think  it  was  a  shame  to  use  Dora's 
dresses  and  furs  and  jewelry  the  way  they  did." 

"  Mother  said  it  was  right,  and  Robert  seemed 
to  think  so  also — that  is,  after  mother  had  explained 
the  subject  to  him." 

"  Whatever  mother  thinks,  Robert  finally  thinks 
the  same.  He  is  more  afraid  of  mother  than  we 
are.  I  despise  a  man  who  can't  stick  to  his  own 
opinion." 

"  But  if  his  opinion  is  wrong?  " 

"All  the  same,  he  ought  to  stick  to  it;  I  should. 
I  think  Dora  is  a  lovely  woman,  and  good,  and 
clever.  Mother  ought  to  be  proud  of  her  new 
daughter." 

"  Mother  had  a  high  ideal  for  Robert's  wife." 

"  One  that  nobody  but  a  Traquair  Campbell — or 
a  Jane  Dalkeith  could  fill." 

"  Jane  might  have  pleased  her." 

"No  one  pleases  mother!  If  you  gave  her  the 
whites  of  your  eyes,  she  would  not  be  pleased." 

"  You  must  not  forget,  Christina,  that  she  is  our 
mother,  and  that  the  Scriptures  command  us  to  honor 
her." 

"  Sometimes,  and  in  some  cases,  Isabel,  that  com 
mand  is  a  gey  hard  one — I  might  say  an  impossible 
one." 

"  Perhaps,  but  the  Holy  Word  makes  no  excep 
tions — good  or  bad,  wise  or  foolish,  they  are  to  be 
honored.  Dr.  Robertson  said  so,  in  his  last  sermon 
to  the  Sunday  School." 

"  Dr.  Robertson  isna  infallible,  and  '  wi'  his  ter* 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  105 

romping,  rampaging  sons  and  daughters,  he  be  to 
lay  down  a  strict  law.'  That  was  Jenny  McDonald's 
commentary  on  his  sermon.  I  heard  her  say  so, 
and  I  thought  to  myself  '  Jenny  McDonald,  you 
are  a  vera  discerning  woman.'  I  have  respected  her 
ever  since,  and  I  shall  see  she  gets  a  pair  of  blankets 
at  the  Christmas  fair." 

"  Well,  Christina,  I  shall  not  quarrel  with  you 
about  Dora.  I  can  live  without  Dora,  but  you  are 
essential." 

The  evening  proved  to  be  as  pleasant,  as  the  morn 
ing  had  been  disagreeable.  Robert  had  doubtless 
suffered  some  qualms  of  conscience  regarding  his 
wife's  treatment,  and  resolved  to  make  it  up  to  her 
by  his  own  attention.  For  he  believed  so  firmly  in 
himself,  and  in  Theodora's  love  for  him,  that  he 
really  thought  a  few  kind  words  would  atone  for 
every  wrong  and  unkindness  she  had  suffered. 

He  found  Theodora  in  the  mood  he  expected. 
She  was  beautifully  gowned,  and  radiant  with  wel 
coming  smiles.  He  forgot  to  name  her  morning  in 
disposition,  but  asked  what  she  had  been  doing  all 
day,  and  was  much  pleased  when  she  answered : 

"  Christina  and  I  have  been  shopping  this  after 
noon.  She  was  of  great  assistance  to  me,  and  we 
had  a  delightful  time.  Then  she  told  him  what 
she  had  bought,  and  made  some  very  merry  com 
ments  on  the  strange  shops  and  polite  shopmen." 

Two  things  in  her  recital  were  particularly  satis 
factory — one  of  his  own  family  had  shared  her  pleas 
ure,  and  he  had  not  been  asked  for  money  to  con- 


106  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

tribute  to  it.  For  his  wedding  expenses  had  begun 
to  give  him  a  sense  of  poverty,  and  his  naturally 
economical  nature  was  shocked  at  their  total.  But 
if  Theodora  liked  to  buy  more  linen  and  furniture, 
and  treat  his  sister  and  herself  he  had  no  objections. 
He  supposed  she  had  plenty  of  money,  he  thought 
of  what  Mr.  Newton  called  her  "  royalties,"  and  felt 
he  might — at  least  for  a  few  weeks — throw  his  re 
sponsibilities  upon  them. 

On  the  whole,  sitting  by  Theodora's  side  and 
listening  to  her  pleasant  conversation,  he  felt  life 
to  be  decidedly  worth  living.  Her  moderated  dress 
was  also  in  consonance  with  his  desires.  For  she 
had  felt  her  costume  on  the  previous  night  to  be  out 
of  tone  with  her  surroundings,  and  had  therefore 
made  a  much  simpler  toilet.  She  had  even  wondered 
if  the  rich  silk  and  lace,  and  pearls,  were  to  blame 
for  the  unkindness  of  her  reception;  if  so,  she  re 
solved  not  to  err  in  that  respect  again.  So  she  wore 
a  light  gray  liberty  silk  gown  of  walking  length,  with 
a  pretty  white  muslin  waist,  and  an  Eton  jacket.  A 
short  sash  of  the  same  silk  tied  at  the  left  side  was 
the  only  trimming,  and  her  wedding  ring  with  its 
diamond  guard  her  only  jewelry.  Its  simplicity 
elicited  her  husband's  ardent  admiration,  and  she 
hoped  it  would  be  satisfactory  to  all.  But  who  can 
please  jealousy,  envy,  and  hatred?  An  angel  from 
heaven  would  fail,  then  how  should  a  mortal  woman 
succeed? 

"  Last  night,"  said  her  mother-in-law  scornfully, 
"  my  lady  came  sweeping  into  the  room  like  a  very 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  107 

butterfly  of  a  woman.  She  thought  she  would  aston 
ish  us.  Did  she  imagine  the  Traquair  Campbells 
could  be  snubbed  by  a  silk  dress  and  a  string  of 
pearls  ?  And  to-night  she  comes  smiling  in  as  modest 
as  a  Quakeress.  I  am  led  to  believe,  Robert  has 
been  giving  her  a  few  words.  I  know  right  well 
she  deserved  them." 

"  Mother,"  said  Isabel,  "  I  dare  say  she  wanted 
us  to  believe  that  she  had  been  used  to  full  dress 
dinners." 

"  A  likely  thing  in  a  Methodist  preacher's  house, 
or  a  girl's  school  either." 

"  College,  you  mean,  mother,"  corrected  Chris 
tina.  "  Or  perhaps  she  thought  if  she  was  dressed 
very  fine,  we  would  like  her  better.  Dress  does 
make  a  deal  of  difference.  None  of  us  like  our 
cousins  Kerr,  because  they  dress  so  shabby." 

"  Speak  for  your  own  feelings,  Christina.  Your 
sister  Isabel  and  I  always  treat  the  Kerr  girls  with 
respect." 

"  Respect  is  a  gey  cold  welcome.  I  would  not 
take  it  twice." 

"  I  think  you  are  forgetting  yourself,  Christina," 
said  Isabel. 

"  She  has  been  in  bad  company  all  afternoon,  Isa 
bel.  What  can  you  expect?  I  heard  her  tee- 
heeing  and  laughing  with  Dora,  almost  until  dinner 
time." 

And  even  as  the  old  woman  spoke,  Robert  entered 
and  asked  his  sisters  to  come  and  spend  the  evening 
with  Dora  and  himself.  "  Dora  is  going  to  sing," 


io8  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

he  said,  "  and  it  will  be  a  great  treat  for  you  to 
hear  her." 

"  Thank  you,  brother,"  said  Isabel.  "  I  prefer 
to  stay  with  mother." 

"  Perhaps  mother  will  also  come." 

"  No,  Robert,  I  do  not  care  for  worldly  music, 
and  if  I  did,  Christina  sings  and  plays  very  well." 

"  Robert,  I  shall  be  delighted  to  come,"  said 
Christina.  "  You  know  I  love  music." 

"  You  will  remain  with  your  sister  and  myself, 
Christina." 

"Please,  mother,  let  me  go!  Robert,  please!" 
and  she  looked  so  entreatingly  at  her  brother,  that 
he  sat  down  by  his  mother,  and  taking  her  hand 
said:  "You  must  humor  me  in  this  matter,  dear 
mother.  I  want  some  of  you  with  me,  and  I  am 
sure  Christina  can  learn  a  great  deal  from  Dora. 
It  will  cost  her  nothing,  and  she  ought  to  take  ad 
vantage  of  Dora's  skill." 

The  last  argument  prevailed.  If  Christina  could 
get  any  advantage  for  nothing,  and  especially  from 
Theodora,  Mrs.  Campbell  approved  the  project. 

"  You  may  go  with  your  brother,  Christina,  for 
an  hour,  and  make  the  most  of  your  opportunities. 
One  thing  is  sure,  the  woman  ought  to  do  something 
for  the  family,  for  goodness  knows,  we  have  been 
put  to  extraordinary  expense  and  trouble  for  her 
pleasure." 

A  few  minutes  after  the  departure  of  Robert  and 
his  sister,  Mrs.  Campbell  said:  "Open  the  parlor 
door,  Isabel,  and  let  us  hear  the  '  treat '  if  we  can." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  109 

But  the  songs  Theodora  sang  were  quite  unknown 
to  the  two  listeners  and  Mrs.  Campbell  indulged  her 
self  in  much  scornful  criticism.  "  Who  ever  heard 
the  like?  Do  you  call  that  music?  It  is  just  skirl 
ing.  I  would  rather  hear  Christina  sing  '  The  Bush 
Aboon  Traquair,'  or  '  The  Lass  o'  Patie's  Mill,'  or 
a  good  rattling  Jacobite  song  like  '  Highland  Lad 
die,'  or  '  Over  the  Water  to  Charlie.'  There  is 
music  in  the  like  o'  them,  but  there  isn't  a  note  o' 
it  in  Dora's  caterwauling." 

"  Listen,  mother !  She  is  singing  merrily  enough 
now.  I  wonder  what  it  is?  Robert  and  Christina 
are  both  laughing." 

"  Something  wicked  and  theatrical,  no  doubt. 
Shut  the  door,  Isabel,  and  give  me  my  Practice  of 
Piety.  Then  you  may  leave  me,  and  go  to  your 
room,  unless  you  wish  to  join  your  sister." 

"  Mother,  do  not  be  unjust." 

"  In  an  hour  remind  Christina.  You  are  a 
good  daughter,  Isabel.  You  are  my  greatest  com 
fort." 

"Good-night,  mother;  you  are  always  first  with 
me." 

When  Christina's  hour  was  nearly  at  its  close,  Isa 
bel  went  to  her  brother's  parlor  door.  Theodora 
was  singing  the  sweetest  little  melody  and  her  voice 
was  so  charmful  that  Isabel  could  not  tap  at  the 
door — as  Christina  had  been  instructed  to  do — until 
it  ceased.  And  for  many  a  day  the  words  haunted 
her,  though  she  always  told  herself  there  was  neither 
sense  nor  reason  in  them. 


no  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"If  there  were  dreams  to  sell 

What  would  you  buy? 
Some  cost  a  passing  bell, 

Some  a  light  sigh, 
That  shakes  from  Life's  fresh  crown 

Only  a  rose  leaf  down, 
If  there  were  dreams  to  sell, 

Merry  and  sad  to  tell, 
And  the  crier  rang  the  bell, 

What  would  you  buy?" 


After  this  question  had  rung  itself  into  her  heart 
and  memory,  she  tapped  at  the  door  and  Robert  rose 
and  opened  it.  And  when  Isabel  spoke  they  brought 
her  in,  willing  or  unwilling,  and  made  so  much  of 
her  visit  that  she  could  not  deny  their  kindness.  Be 
sides,  as  Robert  told  her,  they  wanted  a  game  of 
whist  so  much,  and  she  made  it  possible.  "  You 
shall  be  my  partner,"  he  added,  "  and  we  are  sure 
to  win."  He  was  holding  her  hand  as  he  spoke, 
and  ere  he  ceased,  he  had  led  her  to  the  table  and 
got  her  a  seat.  Christina  threw  down  a  pack  of 
cards,  and  Isabel  found  it  impossible  to  resist  the 
temptation,  for  she  loved  a  game  of  whist  and  played 
a  clever  hand.  Then  the  hours  slipped  happily  away, 
and  it  was  near  midnight  when  the  sisters  stepped 
softly  to  their  rooms. 

"  I  have  had  such  a  good  time,"  whispered  Chris 
tina. 

"  It  was  a  good  game,"  answered  Isabel. 

"  Don't  you  think  she  is  nice?  " 

"Dora?" 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  in 

"  Yes." 

"  She  puts  on  plenty  of  nice  airs." 

"  I  hope  Robert  will  ask  us  to-morrow  night." 

"  I  shall  not  go  again.  I  could  not  help  to-night's 
visit.  There  is  no  need  to  say  anything  to  mother. 
It  would  only  worry  her." 

"  In  the  morning  she  will  tell  us  the  precise  mo 
ment  that  we  came  upstairs.  No  doubt  she  was 
watching  and  listening,  and  if  we  had  the  feet  of  a 
mouse  she  would  hear  us." 

But  if  Mrs.  Campbell  heard  she  made  no  remark 
on  the  situation.  She  knew  well  that  if  Isabel  was 
brought  face  to  face  with  her  frailty,  she  would  de 
fend  it,  and  defend  all  concerned  in  it,  and  also 
make  a  point  of  repeating  the  fault  in  order  to  prove 
the  propriety  of  her  position.  That  would  be  giving 
Theodora  too  great  an  advantage.  On  the  con 
trary,  she  was  in  her  pleasantest  mood,  and  as  Theo 
dora  had  her  coffee  in  her  own  parlor  there  was  no 
incident  to  mar  the  even  temper  of  the  breakfast 
table. 

When  Robert  left  it,  he  was  followed  so  quickly 
by  Christina  that  she  had  an  opportunity  of  speaking 
to  him  as  he  was  putting  on  his  overcoat  and  gloves, 
and  thus  to  thank  him  for  his  invitation  of  the  pre 
vious  evening.  "  I  never  had  such  a  happy  time 
in  all  my  life,  Robert,"  she  said,  "  and  Theodora 
does  play  and  sing  wonderfully.  It  is  a  joy  to  listen 
to  her." 

"Is  it  not?"  he  queried  with  a  beaming  face. 
"  You  were  a  good  girl  to  call  on  her,  and  go  out 


112  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

with  her;  and  I  will  remember  you  at  the  New  Year 
handsomely  if  you  make  things  pleasant  for  Theo 
dora." 

"  I  would  do  so  to  please  you,  Robert.  I  do  not 
want  to  be  paid  for  that,"  replied  Christina.  Robert 
smiled  and  went  away  in  such  a  happy  temper,  that 
Jepson  said  as  he  took  his  place  at  the  head  of  the 
kitchen  breakfast  table :  "  The  master  is  off  in  high 
spirits  this  morning.  The  bride  is  winning  her  way, 
I  suppose.  She  seems  rather  an  attractive  woman." 

"  You  suppose !  And  pray  what  will  your  sup 
posing  be  worth,  Mr.  Jepson?"  Mrs.  McNab 
asked  this  question  scornfully  from  the  foot  of  the 
table.  "Attractive,  indeed!  She's  charming,  she's 
captivating,  she's  enchanting,  she's  bewitching;  and 
if  she  was  only  Highland  Scotch,  she  would  soon  be 
teaching  thae  sour  old  women  the  meaning  o'  them 
powerful  words.  She  would  that!  But  she's  o'er 
good,  and  o'er  good-tempered  for  the  like  o'  them." 

"  You  are  talking  of  the  mistress,  McNab." 

"  I  am  weel  acquaint  wi'  that  fact,  and  I'll  just 
remind  you  that  my  name  is  Mistress  McNab,  when 
you  find  sense  enough  to  give  me  my  right.  And 
if  it  isna  lawfu'  to  talk  o'  Mistress  Traquair  Camp 
bell,  there's  no  law  forbidding  me  to  talk  o'  them 
Lairds  and  Crawfords.  If  they  ever  come  here 
again,  the  smoke  will  get  through  their  porridge, 
and  they'll  wonder  what  the  de'il  is  the  matter  wi' 
Mistress  McNab's  cookery." 

"  The  guests  of  the  house,  McNab,  ought  to  have 
a  kind  of  consideration." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  113 

"  Consider  them  yoursel',  then." 
'  The  Crawfords  and  Lairds  both  are  the  most 
respect " 

"  Ill-bred,  and  forwardsome  o'  mortals.  I  could 
say  much  worse " 

"  Better  not." 

"  Bouncing,  swaggering,  nasty,  beggarly  crea 
tures  !  They  turn  up  their  lang  noses,  and  the 
palms  o'  their  greedy  hands  at  the  like  o'  you  and 
me,  but  there  isna  a  lady  or  a  gentleman  at  this  table, 
that  wouldna  scorn  the  dirty  things  they  did  here." 

''  They  gave  none  o'  us  a  sixpence  when  they  went 
awa,"  said  Thomas,  the  second  man. 

"  Sixpence !  They  couldna  imagine  a  bawbee  or 
a  kind  word  to  anybody  but  themsel's.  They  wouldna 
gie  the  smoke  aff  their  porridge — but  I'll  tell  you 
the  differ  o'  them.  The  young  mistress,  God  bless 
her,  sends  her  maid  to  me  last  night,  and  the  girl — 
a  civil  spoken  creature — says :  '  Mrs.  McNab,  my 
mistress  would  like  her  coffee  and  rolls  in  her  own 
parlor,  and  there  will  be  due  you  half-a-crown  a  week 
for  your  trouble,  and  thank  you.'  That's  the  way 
a  lady  puts  things.  And  mind  you,  if  there's  the 
like  o'  a  fresh  kidney,  or  a  few  mushrooms  coming 
Mrs.  McNab's  way,  they  will  go  to  my  lovely  lady 
in  her  own  parlor — and  Jepson,  you  can  just  tell 
the  auld  woman  I  made  that  remark." 

"  What  is  said  at  this  table  goes  no  further,  Mrs. 
McNab,  and  that  you  know." 

"  Then  the  auld  woman  has  the  far-hearing,  that's 
a' "  and  being  by  this  time  at  the  end  of  her 


114  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

temper  and  her  English  speech,  she  plunged  into 
Gaelic.  It  was  her  sure  and  unconquered  resort,  for 
no  one  could  answer  unpronounceable  and  untrans 
latable  words.  All  her  companions  knew  was,  that 
she  rose  from  the  table  with  an  air  of  victory. 

The  next  week  was  very  wet.  Day  after  day  it 
was  rain  only  interrupted  by  more  rain,  and  Robert 
seemed  to  take  a  kind  of  pride  in  its  abundance. 
"  Few  countries  are  so  well  watered  as  Scotland,"  he 
said  complacently: 

"  The  West  wind  always  brings  wet  weather, 
The  East  wind  wet  and  cold  together, 
The  South  wind  surely  brings  us  rain, 
The  North  wind  blows  it  back  again." 

This  storm  included  Sunday,  and  every  one  went 
to  church  except  Theodora.  She  had  a  headache, 
and  having  been  told  by  Christina  that  the  Kirk 
would  size  her  up  the  first  Sabbath  she  appeared, 
she  resolved  to  put  off  the  ordeal.  The  pleasure  of 
being  quite  alone  for  a  few  hours  was  a  temptation, 
for  she  needed  solitude  more  than  service,  bewildered 
as  she  was  by  the  strange  household  ideas  and  cus 
toms  which  had  suddenly  encompassed  her  life. 

She  had  thought  that  religion,  or  some  point  of 
nationality,  would  be  the  most  likely  rocks  of  offence, 
but  as  yet  all  her  trials  had  come  from  some  trivial 
circumstance  of  daily  life.  She  had  been  embar 
rassed  by  such  small  differences,  that  she  hardly  knew 
in  the  hasty  decisions  they  compelled,  what  to  de 
fend  and  what  to  abandon. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  115 

It  was  also  a  wearisome  experience  to  be  constantly 
exchanging  suspicious  courtesies  with  her  husband's 
family,  and  by  no  effort  of  love  or  patience  could 
she  get  beyond  these.  Their  want  of  response  made 
her  sad,  and  checked  her  affectionate  and  spontaneous 
advances,  but  she  knew  that  in  the  trials  of  domestic 
life  all  plans  must  come  at  last  to  the  give  and  take, 
bear  and  forbear  theory.  So  after  some  reflection, 
she  said  softly  to  herself:  "These  women  are  the 
samples  of  humanity  given  me  with  my  husband, 
and  I  must  make  the  best  of  them.  I  can  choose 
my  friends,  but  I  must  take  my  relations  as  I  find 
them.  They  are  not  what  I  wish,  not  what  I  ex 
pected,  but  I  fear  nothing  comes  up  to  our  expecta 
tions.  The  real  thing  always  lacks  the  color  of 
the  thing  hoped  for." 

Such  despondent  musings,  however,  were  not 
natural  to  her  hopeful  temper.  "  There  must  be  a 
bright  side  to  the  situation,"  she  continued,  "  and 
I  must  try  and  find  it."  So  she  roused  herself  from 
the  recumbent  position  she  had  taken.  "  Stand  up 
on  thy  feet,  and  look  for  the  bright  side,  Theodora." 
As  she  did  so,  her  eyes  fell  upon  the  small  book  in 
her  hand,  and  she  read  these  words: 

"  Take  a  good  heart,  O  Jerusalem,  for  he  that 
gave  thee  that  name  will  comfort  thee."  With  a 
joyful  smile  she  read  it  again,  and  this  time  aloud: 

"  Take  a  good  heart,  O  Theodora,  for  he  that 
gave  thee  that  name  will  comfort  thee !  "  *  The 

*  Baruch.     Chap.  4,  v.  30. 


Ii6  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

glorious  promise  inspired  her  at  once  with  strength 
and  joy;  she  felt  her  soul  singing  within  her,  and  her 
first  impulse  was  to  open  the  piano  and  pour  out  her 
thanksgiving. 

"  O  come  let  us  sing  unto  the  Lord,  let  us  heart 
ily  rejoice  in  the  strength  of  our  salvation." 

At  this  point  McNab  rushed  into  the  room  crying: 
"  For  goodness  sake,  my  lady,  stop !  You'll  be  hav 
ing  the  police  in,  and  the  de'il  to  pay  all  round,  dis 
turbing  the  Sunday  saints  and  the  like  o'  it.  Excuse 
me,  ma'am,  but  you  don't  know  what  you're  up  to." 

"  I  am  singing  a  psalm,  McNab.  Is  there  any 
thing  wrong  in  that?  " 

"  You've  put  your  finger  on  the  wrong,  ma'am. 
Singing  a  psalm  isna  a  thing  fit  to  be  done  in  your 
ain  parlor  on  the  Sunday.  It  is  a'  right  in 
the  Kirk,  but  it  is  a'  wrang  in  the  parlor." 

"How  is  that?" 

"  You  be  to  ask  wiser  folk  than  I  am  what's  the 
differ.  If  you  were  singing  the  psalm  o'  the  blessed 
Virgin  itsel'  and  folk  heard  you,  there  would  be  no 
end  o'  the  matter.  You  can  sing  without  the  piano, 
ma'am,  it's  the  piano  that's  the  blackguard  on  a  Sun 
day." 

"  Thank  you,  McNab,  for  warning  me.  I  have 
not  learned  the  ways  of  the  country  yet." 

"  You'll  never  learn  them,  ma'am.  They  must 
be  borned  in  ye,  sucked  in  wi'  your  mither's  milk, 
and  thrashed  into  ye  wi'  your  school  lessons.  Just 
gie  them  their  ways,  and  stick  to  your  ain.  You  can 
do  that,  McNab  does.  They  are  easy  satisfied  if  it 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  117 

suits  their  convenience.  Every  soul  in  this  house 
is  at  church  but  mysel',  for  I  hae  made  collops  the 
regular  Sunday  dinner,  and  no  one  but  McNab  can 
cook  collops  to  suit  Mrs.  Traquair  Campbell." 

"  I  am  sure  she  would  not  keep  you  from  church  to 
make  collops." 

"  I  am  a  Catholic,  and  she  keeps  me  at  home  to 
make  collops,  to  prevent  me  going  to  my  ain  church. 
God  save  us !  she  thinks  she  is  keeping  me  from 
serving  the  devil." 

"  So  you  are  a  Catholic?  " 

"  Glory  be  to  God,  I  am  a  Catholic !  Did  you 
ever  taste  collops,  ma'am?" 

"  I  never  heard  of  them." 

"  Weel,  they  arena  bad,  and  when  McNab  makes 
them,  they  are  vera  good.  I  shall  put  a  few  mush 
rooms  in  them  to-day  for  your  sake." 

"  Thank  you  !  " 

"  And  you  can  sing  twice  as  much  the  morn.  I'm 
sure  it  is  a  thanksgiving  to  listen  to  you." 

Then  the  door  closed,  and  Theodora  closed  the 
piano,  put  away  her  music,  and  went  upstairs  to  dress 
for  dinner.  The  thanksgiving  was  still  in  her  heart, 
and  she  sang  it  with  her  soul  joyfully,  as  she  put 
on  one  of  her  most  cheerful  and  beautiful  costumes. 
It  seemed  natural  and  proper  to  do  so,  and  without 
reasoning  on  the  subject,  she  felt  it  to  be  in  fit  sym 
pathy  with  her  mood. 

Even  when  the  churchgoers  came  home  drabbled 
and  dripping,  and  as  cross  and  gloomy  as  if  they 
had  been  to  hear  a  Gospel  that  was  bad  news,  instead 


n8  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

of  good  news,  she  did  not  feel  its  incongruity  with 
her  environment,  until  her  mother-in-law  said: 

"  You  are  very  much  over-dressed  for  the  day, 
Dora." 

"  It  is  God's  day,  and  I  dressed  in  honor  of  the 
day." 

"  Then  you  should  have  gone  to  church  to  honor 
Him." 

Before  his  wife  could  reply,  Robert  made  a  di 
version:  "What  did  you  think  of  the  sermon, 
mother?  "  he  asked. 

"  It  was  a  very  strong  sermon." 

"Who  was  the  preacher?  "  asked  Isabel. 

"  Dr.  Fraser  of  Stirling,"  said  Robert. 

"  Well,  brother,  I  do  not  believe  Dr.  Robertson 
would  have  approved  the  sermon.  It  is  not  like 
his  preaching." 

"  It  was  an  excellent  sermon,"  reiterated  Mrs. 
Campbell.  "  I  hope  all  the  uncovenanted  present 
felt  its  weighty  solemnity."  She  muttered,  twice 
over,  its  awful  text:  "The  wicked  shall  be  turned 
into  hell,  and  all  the  nations  that  forget  God." 

"  There  is  a  better  word  for  them  than  that,"  said 
Theodora,  her  face  alight  with  spiritual  promise. 
"  '  The  Lord  is  long-suffering  to  us-ward,  not  willing 
that  any  should  perish,  but  that  all  should  come  to 
repentance.'  That  is  what  Saint  Peter  says,  and 
Timothy,  '  God  our  Saviour  will  have  all  men  to 
be  saved,'  a  great  all  that,  and  the  Testament  is  full 
of  such  glad  hope." 

"  Those  passages  do  not  apply  to  the  lost,  Dora.'* 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  119 

"  But  as  your  great  Scotch  preacher,  Thomas 
Erskine,  said,  we  are  lost  here  as  much  as  there,  and 
Christ  came  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost." 

Mrs.  Campbell  looked  with  sorrowful  anger  at 
her  son,  and  Robert  said :  "  My  dear  Dora,  you 
argue  like  a  woman.  Women  should  listen,  and 
never  argue." 

"  Women  are  told  to  search  the  Scriptures,  Rob 
ert.  I  search  and  understand  them,  but  I  do  not 
often  understand  the  men  who  profess  to  explain 
them." 

"Your  father " 

"  Oh,  my  father !  He  has  come  unto  Bethlehem. 
Those  who  can  believe  God  has  any  pleasure  in  pun 
ishing  sinners,  are  still  at  Sinai." 

"  God  must  punish  sinners,"  said  Isabel. 

"  God  can  reform  and  forgive  them,  just  as  easily; 
and  it  would  be  far  more  in  accord  with  His  nature, 
for  '  God  is  Love.'  " 

•  "  If  we  are  to  have  a  theological  discussion  by 
young  women,  I  shall  retire,"  said  Robert,  and  with 
these  words  he  rose  from  the  table. 

"  Sit  down,  Robert.     You  have  had  no  pudding." 

"  The  collops  were  very  fine  to-day,  mother,  and 
I  am  satisfied." 

As  he  left  the  room  Theodora  rose  and  went  with 
him,  but  he  did  not  appear  to  notice  her.  When 
they  were  in  their  parlor  he  said:  "You  ought  to 
have  sat  still  and  finished  your  argument  with  my 
sister." 

"  Have  I  done  something  wrong,  Robert?  " 


I2O  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  I  think  if  you  cannot  assent  to  mother's  state 
ments,  it  would  be  more  becoming  not  to  contradict 
them." 

"  If  it  had  been  a  matter  of  no  importance,  I 
would  have  kept  silence,  but  I  must  always  testify 
in  any  company,  the  absolute  perfection  of  Jesus 
Christ's  sacrifice." 

"  Nobody  challenged  it." 

"  But  if  it  does  not  save  all  it  is  imperfect.  And 
surely  John  the  Beloved  knew  his  Master's  heart, 
and  he  says  '  Jesus  Christ  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins,  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world.'  How  can  any  one  dare  to  narrow 
that  zone  of  mercy?  " 

"  You  argue  like  a  woman,  Dora." 

"  I  am  not  arguing.  I  am  only  quoting  what  the 
greatest  of  men  have  said." 

Then  Robert  lifted  the  Sunday  Magazine  and 
answered  all  her  further  efforts  at  conversation  in 
polite  monosyllables,  and  finding  the  position  she  had 
been  relegated  to  both  embarrassing  and  humiliat 
ing,  she  finally  went  to  her  room  upstairs,  and  shut 
herself  in  with  God.  Her  eyes  were  full  of  unshed 
tears,  as  she  turned  the  key,  for  she  felt  that  some 
thing  in  her  life  had  lost  its  foothold.  Was  it  her 
faith?  Oh,  no!  She  trusted  God  implicitly.  She 
could  not  think  any  ill  of  Him,  she  had  loved  Him 
from  her  cradle.  Was  it  her  love?  Oh,  how  re 
luctant  she  was,  to  even  ask  this  question.  But  there 
was  a  great  change  in  Robert,  or  was  it  that  she  now 
saw  the  real  Robert  Campbell,  while  the  man  who 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  121 

had  wooed  and  won  her  had  been  but  a  man  playing 
a  lover's  role? 

For  even  during  the  few  days  they  had  been  at 
home,  it  was  evident  that  both  he  and  his  family  were 
resolved  on  her  surrendering  her  faith,  and  her  in 
dividuality.  She  was  to  be  made  over  by  the  Camp 
bells  in  their  own  image  and  likeness.  Robert  had 
loved  and  married  Theodora  Newton;  was  she  to 
change  her  character  with  her  name?  She  had  made 
no  such  promise,  and,  without  the  slightest  egotism, 
she  could  see  that  such  a  denial  of  herself  would 
compel  from  her  mental  and  spiritual  nature  a  down 
ward,  backward  movement,  so  deep  and  wide  she 
dared  not  contemplate  it. 

Her  duty  to  her  husband  was  plain  as  the  Bible, 
and  she  promised  herself  to  fulfil  it  to  the  last  tittle, 
but  while  doing  this,  she  must  find  the  courage  to  be 
true  to  herself,  as  well  as  to  others.  And  as  nothing 
can  be  done  in  the  heart  by  halves,  it  would  be  no 
fitful  or  uncertain  struggle.  The  whole  soul,  the 
whole  heart,  the  whole  mind,  the  whole  life,  would 
be  demanded.  She  was  troubled  at  the  prospect  be 
fore  her.  Would  she  find  strength  and  wisdom  for 
it  ?  Or  would  it  prove  to  be  another  of  the  lost  fights 
of  Virtue?" 

"  No,  no !  "  she  cried.  "  I  shall  not  fight  alone. 
God  and  Theodora  are  a  multitude." 

She  had  certainly  that  doleful  afternoon  gone  back 
in  piteous  memory  to  her  teaching  and  writing,  and 
her  own  peaceful,  loving  home,  and  thought  that  if 
trouble  was  necessary  for  her  higher  development  it 


122  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

could  have  been  better  borne  in  either  environment. 
But  she  acknowledged  also  that 

"  Where  our  Captain  bids  us  go, 
}Tis  not  ours  to  murmur  'No.' 
He  that  gives  us  sword  and  shield, 
Chooses  too   the  battlefield." 

So  if  God  had  chosen  this  gloomy  house,  full  of 
jealousy,  envy,  hatred,  and  apparently  dying  love, 
for  her  battlefield,  it  was  not  her  place  to  murmur 
"  No,"  nor  even  her  desire,  since  He  that 

"  chose  the  battlefield, 
Would  give  her  also  sword  and  shield." 


CHAPTER  V 

BAD  AT  BEST 

IF  there  had  been  a  little  diversity  in  the  Campbell 
family  it  would  have  been  a  more  bearable  house 
hold.  But  they  had  the  same  prejudices  and  the 
same  likes  and  dislikes,  differing  only  in  the  intensity 
with  which  they  held  them.  Mrs.  Campbell  and 
her  son  Robert  were  the  most  positive,  Isabel  was 
but  little  behind  them,  and  Christina  was  easily  bent 
as  the  others  desired.  Under  present  circumstances 
she  could  only  be  true  to  her  family;  under  any  other 
circumstances,  it  was  doubtful  if  she  could  be  false. 
This  monotony  of  feeling  pressed  like  a  weight  on 
Theodora,  who  felt  that  she  could  have  borne  op 
position  and  unkindness  better  if  there  had  been  more 
variety  in  their  exhibition;  for  then  Life  might  have 
had  some  interesting  fluctuations. 

But  Mrs.  Campbell  did  precisely  the  same  things 
every  day,  and  to  go  to  the  works  at  the  same  mo 
ment  every  morning  was  the  sum-total  of  Robert's 
life.  The  girls  had  certain  dresses  for  the  morning, 
and  certain  other  dresses  for  the  afternoon,  and  their 
employments  were  quite  as  uniform.  There  were 
even  certain  menus  for  every  day's  dinner  in  the 
week,  and  these  were  repeated  with  little  or  no 
change  year  in  and  year  out.  For  Mrs.  Campbell 
hated  the  unexpected;  she  tried  to  order  her  life  so 

123 


124  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

that  there  should  be  no  surprises  in  it.  On  the  con 
trary  Theodora  delighted  in  the  unforeseen.  She 
would  have  wished  that  even  in  heaven  she  might 
have  happy  surprises — the  sudden  meeting  with  an 
old  friend,  or  good  news  from  the  dear  earth  still 
loved  and  remembered. 

However,  she  had  that  hopefulness  and  virginity 
of  spirit  that  makes  the  best  of  what  cannot  be 
changed,  and  as  the  weeks  went  on  she  learned  to 
ignore  the  ill-will  she  could  not  conquer  and  to  bear 
in  silence  the  wrongs  not  to  be  put  right  by  any 
explanations.  And  she  soon  made  many  acquaint 
ances,  and  a  few  sincere  friends.  Among  the  latter 
were  Dr.  Robertson  and  his  wife,  and  Mrs.  Oliphant, 
the  American.  The  former  had  called  on  Theodora 
about  ten  days  after  her  home-coming  and  had  been 
heartily  attracted  by  her  intelligence  and  beauty. 
The  doctor  was  passionately  fond  of  good  music, 
and  when  he  noticed  the  open  piano  and  the  name 
Mendelssohn  on  the  music  above  it,  he  asked  in  an 
eager  voice:  "  You  will  play  for  me?  " 

"  Yes,"  Theodora  answered,  "  very  gladly !  My 
piano  is  my  great  friend  and  companion.  It  feels 
with  me  in  every  mood.  What  shall  I  play?  " 

"  The  song  before  you.  Mendelssohn  can  get 
very  near  to  a  musical  soul." 

She  rose  at  once,  and  after  a  short  prelude  played 
in  a  manner  so  masterful  as  to  cause  the  minister  to 
look  at  his  wife  in  wonder  as  her  magnificent  voice 
lifted  that  pathetic  prayer,  which  has  spoken  for  the 
sorrowful  and  suffering  in  all  ages: 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  O  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,  then  would  I 
flee  away  and  be  at  rest." 

Every  note  and  every  word  was  full  of  passionate 
spiritual  desire  and  tender  aspiration,  and  the  music 
was  as  if  her  guardian  angel  joined  her  in  it.  The 
doctor  was  entranced,  and  Mrs.  Robertson  rose  and 
was  standing  by  the  singer's  side  when  she  ceased. 

"  O,  my  dear,  my  dear!"  she  said,  "you  have 
gone  straight  to  my  heart." 

A  long  and  delightful  conversation  followed;  then 
Ducie  set  an  exquisite  little  service,  and  gave  the 
company  tea  and  cake  and  sweetmeats,  and  the  visit 
did  not  terminate  for  nearly  another  hour. 

Mrs.  Campbell  was  in  a  transport  of  anger.  "  I 
was  never  even  asked  after,"  she  complained  to  her 
son,  and  Dora  kept  them  all  of  two  hours — such 
ignorance  of  social  customs — and  I  could  hear  them 
talking  and  singing  like  a  crowd  of  daffing  young 
people." 

"  You  ought  to  have  joined  them,  mother." 

"  I  ought  to  have  been  asked  to  do  so,  but  I  was 
quite  neglected." 

A  few  minutes  later  Robert  said  to  his  wife: 
"  Why  did  you  not  send  for  mother  when  the  min 
ister  called?  " 

"  Mother  was  not  asked  for,  and  whenever  I  do 
send  for  her  she  makes  a  point  of  refusing,  often 
very  rudely,  and  I  did  not  wish  Dr.  Robertson  to 
be  refused  in  our  parlor." 

"Who  was  mother  rude  to?  It  is  not  her 
way." 


126  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  To  Mrs.  Oliphant  for  one,  and  there  were 
others." 

"  She  does  not  approve  of  Mrs.  Oliphant." 

"  I  did  not  know  whether  she  approved  of  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Robertson.  I  like  them  very  much.  The 
doctor  was  very  happy,  and  Mrs.  Robertson  told  me 
'  I  had  gone  straight  to  her  heart.' ' 

"  Such  extravagance  of  speech !  But  she  is  Irish, 
and  the  Irish  must  exaggerate.  They  are  a  most 
untruthful  race." 

"  They  are  an  affectionate  race,  and  what  is  the 
good  of  loving  people,  if  you  do  not  tell  them  so? 
They  might  as  well  be  without  such  love." 

"  Do  not  be  foolish,  Dora." 

"  Is  that  foolishness?" 

"  Yes." 

"  Then  once  you  were  very  foolish.  I  have  not 
forgotten  the  time,  when  you  continually  told  me 
how  dearly  you  loved  me.  I  was  very  happy  then." 

He  turned  and  looked  at  her,  and  her  beauty 
conquered  him.  He  took  her  to  his  heart,  and  said : 
"  I  do  love  you,  Dora.  Yes,  I  do  love  you !  "  And 
then  she  grew  radiant,  and  joy  transfigured  her  face, 
and  they  went  in  to  dinner  together  like  lovers. 

A  little  later  when  Dr.  Robertson  and  his  wife 
were  sitting  alone  they  began  to  talk  of  Theodora. 
"  She  has  a  great  heart,"  said  Mrs.  Robertson,  "  and 
more's  the  pity." 

"  Yes,  Kate,  more's  the  pity,  if  she  loves  Robert 
Campbell;  for  it's  small  love  she  will  get  in  return. 
Like  ivy  on  a  stone  wall,  she  will  obtain  only  a  rigid 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  127 

and  niggardly  support,  and  even  for  that  must  go 
searching  all  round  with  humble  embraces." 

"  You  may  take  back  your  last  two  words,  Angus. 
Yonder  woman  will  stand  level  with  her  husband,  or 
not  stand  with  him  at  all.  She  would  scorn  your 
humble  embraces." 

"  I  fear  she  is  in  trouble  already.  There  were 
tears  in  her  voice  as  she  sang." 

"  It  would  have  melted  the  heart  of  a  stone. 
Trouble?  Certainly.  How  can  she  live  with  those 
three  amazing  women,  and  be  out  of  trouble?  " 

"  Well,  Kate,  the  key  of  life  which  opens  all  its 
doors,  and  answers  all  its  questions,  is  not  '  how  * 
or  '  why  '  or  even  '  I  wish  '  or  '  I  will.'  It  is  /  must. 
She  must  live  with  them.  She  must,  she  must,  she 
must;  and  she'll  do  it." 

"  She  will  not  do  it  long.  Mind  what  I  say.  She 
will  strive  till  she  is  weary,  and  then  she  must  leave 
him — or  else  drift  on  a  sorrowful  sea  like  a  dismasted 
ship." 

"  She  believes  in  God — a  believer  in  God  never 
does  that." 

"  Then  she  will  have  to  leave  him.  Who  could 
stand  the  ill-natured  nagging  of  those  women,  and 
his  sullen,  masterful  ways?  No  one." 

"She  must!  The  tooth  often  bites  the  tongue, 
but  they  keep  together." 

"  Poor  woman !  It  is  a  hard  road  for  her  to 
walk  on." 

"  It  is  the  ground  that  we  do  not  walk  on,  that 
supports  us.  Faith  treads  on  the  void,  and  finds  the 


128  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

rock  beneath.  She  has  found  that  rock,  or  I  am 
greatly  mistaken." 

"  I  feel  sure  she  has  found  it.  Angus,  if  you 
could  get  her  to  sing  that  prayer,  '  O  For  the  Wings 
of  a  Dove  '  in  church,  say,  while  the  Elders  went 
round  with  the  collection  boxes,  it  would  do  a  deal 
of  good.  It  would  touch  every  heart — they  wouldn't 
mind  their  pennies,  they  might  even  give  a  crown 
where  they  have  given  a  shilling." 

"  That  is  a  capital  idea,  but  I  should  have  to  ask 
Campbell  for  his  consent." 

"  He  does  not  own  her  voice." 

"  He  thinks  he  does,  and  he  must  have  his  say- 
so.  But  if  she  could  touch  every  heart  as  she  touched 
ours  what  a  gracious  gift  of  song  it  would  be !  " 

"  I  believe  she  could.     Ask  Robert  Campbell." 

"  I  will." 

Under  all  circumstances  Robert  would  have  re 
ceived  the  minister  with  extreme  courtesy,  for  a 
Scotchman  can  no  more  afford  to  quarrel  with  the 
dominie  of  his  Kirk  than  a  Catholic  in  Rome  can 
afford  to  quarrel  with  the  Pope  in  Rome.  Also, 
he  had  a  great  respect  for  Dr.  Robertson,  and  when 
he  was  told  of  the  sermon  he  intended  to  preach  on 
the  following  Sabbath  he  was  very  proud  of  the  con 
fidence,  and  still  prouder  to  be  of  service  in  promot 
ing  its  effectiveness. 

"  Of  course,"  he  said,  "  Mrs.  Campbell  would 
sing.  Why  not?  Was  he  not  always  happy  to 
oblige  the  doctor  and  benefit  the  church?  "  And  it 
never  struck  him  that  he  was  assuming  an  absolute 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  129 

right  in  Theodora's  voice,  and  in  her  use  of  it;  be 
cause  he  actually  felt  what  he  assumed.  Nor  did 
he  see  that  in  giving  her  voice  to  benefit  the  church 
he  was  thinking  solely  of  the  church  as  a  religious 
society,  and  the  souls  composing  it  were  never  for 
a  moment  in  his  calculation.  Both  of  these  facts 
were  clear  to  the  minister,  and  he  hoped  that  when 
Campbell  saw  and  felt  the  effects  of  his  concession 
he  would  be  disposed  to  give  some  thanks  to  Theo 
dora,  and  so  get  a  glimpse  of  what  he  owed  to  a 
wife  so  good,  so  clever,  and  so  lovely. 

It  was  remarkable  that  he  never  named  the  sub 
ject  to  his  mother,  and  to  Theodora  he  only  spoke 
of  the  minister's  visit,  and  asked  if  he  had  called 
on  her. 

"  Yes,"  she  answered,  "  I  made  all  arrangements 
with  him."  She  did  not  dare  to  express  her  pleasure, 
for  in  that  case  she  knew  by  experience  he  would 
probably  cancel  his  concession.  She  permitted  him 
to  think  she  was  willing  to  oblige  the  doctor,  because 
he  wished  it,  and  then  he  felt  it  necessary  to  say 
that  it  was  for  "  the  good  of  the  church,  and  that 
he  had  only  consented  to  her  singing  for  that  rea 
son." 

Two  days  afterwards  Mrs.  Robertson  called  on 
Theodora  and  they  went  out  together,  nor  did  Theo 
dora  return  until  after  ten  o'clock.  At  that  hour 
Mrs.  Campbell,  sent  for  her  son  to  discuss  Dora's 
absence  with  him.  She  found  him  satisfied,  instead 
of  angry,  as  she  supposed  he  would  be. 

"  It  is  quite  right,  mother,"  he  said.      "  Dora  is 


130  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

dining  with  the  Robertsons.  I  was  invited,  but  I 
preferred  to  remain  at  home." 

"  You  did  the  proper  thing.  Neither  I  nor  your 
sisters  were  invited.  I  consider  our  neglect  a  great 
insult." 

"  No  insult  was  intended,  mother.  They  are  in 
fatuated  with  Dora,  and  I  dare  say  have  invited  some 
of  the  congregation  to  meet  her.  Why,  there  she 
is  now !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  and  I  wonder  who  is  with 
her?" 

"  I  advise  you  to  find  out." 

He  followed  the  advice,  and  went  to  the  open 
door.  Theodora  was  in  the  embrace  of  Mrs.  Oli- 
phant.  "  You  darling,"  she  was  saying,  "  I  can 
hardly  wait  for  Sunday.  O,  how  are  you,  Mr. 
Campbell?  You  ought  to  have  been  with  us.  We 
have  had  the  loveliest  evening  with  your  adorable 
wife — but  we  have  brought  her  safe  home." 

Then  Mr.  Oliphant  laughed:  "  You  ought  to  keep 
at  her  side,  Campbell.  Every  man  o'  us  would  like 
to  run  awa'  with  her." 

He  said  the  words  jokingly,  but  Robert  was  very 
angry,  and  Theodora  felt  that  his  permission  for 
the  Sunday  singing  wavered  in  the  balance.  But 
the  danger  passed  in  his  criticisms  of  the  offender, 
whom  he  stigmatized  as  "  the  most  uxorious  and 
foolish  of  husbands." 

Except  to  Theodora,  he  did  not  name  the  subject 
of  her  singing  on  the  coming  Sabbath,  and  as  neither 
Mrs.  Campbell  nor  her  daughters  spoke  of  it,  Theo 
dora  followed  the  example  set  her  and  kept  silence. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  131 

When  Sunday  arrived,  she  went  quietly  out  of  the 
house  while  the  rest  were  dressing,  and  at  the  last 
moment  Robert  joined  his  family,  saying:  "I  will 
go  to  church  with  you  this  morning,  mother."  He 
gave  no  reason  for  his  conduct,  nor  did  Mrs.  Camp 
bell  ask  for  one.  She  concluded  that  Theodora  was 
sick,  or  that  more  likely  she  had  had  a  dispute  with 
her  husband  about  the  service,  and  in  consequence 
had  refused  to  attend  it. 

As  it  happened  Mrs.  Campbell  had  only  heard 
Theodora  sing  from  a  distance,  or  behind  closed 
doors,  and  Isabel  was  very  near  in  the  same  igno 
rance  of  her  voice  and  its  ability.  Christina  was 
more  likely  to  recognize  the  singer,  for  she  had  fre 
quently  heard  her,  but  she  did  not,  or  at  least  only 
in  a  vague  and  uncertain  manner.  She  wished  Theo 
dora  had  been  present,  that  she  might  learn  her 
deficiencies,  and  she  wondered  that  two  people  should 
have  voices  so  similar;  but  she  reflected,  that  her 
own  voice  was  so  like  Isabel's  that  her  mother  fre 
quently  mistook  them.  But  Robert  knew,  and  his 
heart  melted  to  the  passionate  stress  and  longing  of 
her  cry:  "O  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove,"  and 
thrilled  to  the  joy  and  triumph  of  the  rest  hoped  for. 

The  whole  church  was  moved  as  if  it  had  been  one 
spirit  and  one  heart.  The  place  seemed  to  be  on 
fire  with  feeling,  and  as  the  marvellous  voice  died 
away  in  peace  and  rest  a  strange  but  mighty  influence 
swept  over  the  usually  cold  and  stolid  congregation. 
Some  wept  silently,  some  bowed  their  heads,  and  a 
few  stood  and  looked  upward,  while  the  soft,  rolling 


132  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

notes  of  the  organ  died  away  in  the  benediction. 
Very  quietly  and  speechlessly  the  congregation  dis 
persed.  All  went  home  with  the  song  in  their  hearts, 
but  not  until  they  sat  down  in  their  homes  did  they 
begin  to  talk  together  of  the  psalm  and  the  singer. 
Even  Mrs.  Campbell  was  touched  and  pleased,  and 
she  took  a  great  delight  in  praising  the  singer,  as 
they  sat  at  lunch. 

"  That  was  singing,"  she  said,  "  and  the  finest 
singing  I  ever  heard.  Many  people  pretend  to  sing 
who  know  nothing  about  it  and  have  no  voice  to  sing 
with — but,  thank  God,  for  once  in  my  life,  I  have 
heard  singing." 

"  It  sounded  very  like  Dora's  voice,"  said  Chris 
tina. 

"  You  are  mistaken,"  replied  Isabel,  "  besides,  the 
voice  we  heard  this  morning  is  a  finely  trained  voice 
— I  mean,  as  voices  are  trained  for  oratorio  and  pub 
lic  singing.  It  was  a  soprano,  and  soprano  voices 
are  very  much  alike." 

No  one  cared  to  dispute  Isabel's  explanation  and 
the  conversation  drifted  to  the  sermon  from  the  same 
psalm.  "  It  was  a  good  sermon,"  said  Mrs.  Camp 
bell,  "  but  people  will  forget  it  in  the  song." 

"  The  song  was  the  sermon  to-day,"  said  Isabel. 

"  The  sermon  was  water,  the  song  was  wine,"  said 
Robert. 

"  I  wish  you  would  get  the  music,  Dora.  I  am 
sure  you  could  learn  to  sing  it  very  well,"  said  Chris 
tina;  and  Theodora  smiled  and  answered,  "I  will 
try  and  get  the  music,  if  you  wish,  Christina." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  133 

"No,  no!"  cried  Mrs.  Campbell.  "I  would 
not  have  the  memory  of  this  morning's  song  spoiled 
for  a  great  deal." 

"  Nor  I,  mother,"  added  Isabel.  "  Would  you, 
Robert?" 

The  better  man  had  possession  of  Robert  at  that 
hour  and  he  replied  with  a  strong  fervor: 

"  No,  not  for  anything.  It  is  one  memory  I  shall 
hope  to  keep  green  as  long  as  I  live."  He  looked 
at  Theodora,  and  if  any  there  had  had  eyes  to  see, 
they  might  have  read  the  secret  in  their  beaming 
faces. 

In  their  own  parlor  Robert  was  more  enthusiastic 
than  Theodora  had  seen  him  for  a  long  time.  "  You 
have  often  gone  to  my  heart,  Dora,"  he  said,  "  but 
this  morning  you  touched  my  soul."  And  they  were 
very  happy  together.  This  was  the  man  Theodora 
loved.  This  was  the  man  to  whom  she  had  given 
her  heart  and  hand.  Oh,  how  was  she  to  keep  this 
Robert  Campbell  always  to  the  fore? 

To  do  any  great  thing  with  the  heart  of  another, 
you  must  vivisect  your  own,  and  this  truth  Theodora 
had  to  practise  continually.  Her  life  was  one  of 
such  painful  self-denial  as  left  all  its  little  pleasant 
places  bare  and  barren;  but  she  knew  that  in  this 
way  only  could  peace  be  bought,  and  she'paid  the 
price,  excepting  always,  when  it  struck  at  her  self- 
respect  or  violated  her  conscience.  For  she  had  con 
stant  opportunities  of  seeing  that  the  spirit  of  sub 
mission  carried  too  far  was  responsible  for  most  of 
the  misery  and  wrongs  of  the  household;  since  des- 


134  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

potism  is  never  the  sin  of  one,  but  comes  from  the 
servility  of  those  around  the  despot.  And  as  Robert 
was  not  always  indifferent,  but  had  frequent  visitings 
from  his  better  self,  she  made  the  most  of  these 
happy  times,  and  took  the  envy  and  hatred  of  the 
rest  as  she  took  wet  weather,  or  wind,  or  snow,  or 
any  other  exhibition  of  the  Higher  Powers.  For 
if  training  and  education  had  made  Theodora  self- 
respectful,  it  had  also  made  her  avoid  everything 
like  self-indulgence. 

"  To  her  there  never  came  the  thought, 
That  this  her  life  was  meant  to  be 
A  pleasure  house,  where  peace  unbought 
Should  minister  to  pride  and  glee. 

"  Sublimely  she  endured  each  ill 

As  a  plain  fact,  whose  right  or  wrong 
She  questioned  not;  confiding  still 
That  it  would  last — not  over  long. 

"  Willing  from  first  to  last  to  take 

The  mysteries  of  her  life  as  given, 
Leaving  her  time-worn  soul  to  slake 
Its  thirst,  in  an  undoubted  heaven." 

So  the  weeks  passed  on  in  a  kind  of  armed  truce 
with  short  intervals  of  satisfying  happiness,  when 
ever  Robert  chose  to  make  her  happy.  She  still  took 
her  breakfast  alone,  and  now  and  then  Robert,  al 
lured  by  the  pretty  appetizing  table  on  the  cheerful 
hearth,  drank  his  coffee  and  ate  a  rasher  of  bacon 
beside  her.  Then  how  gay  and  delighted  she  was, 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  135 

and  as  on  such  occasions  he  gave  up  his  porridge 
and  salt  herring,  McNab,  in  order  to  pleasure  the 
mistress  whom  she  loved,  always  found  him  some 
dainty  to  atone  for  his  deprivation.  And  the  meal 
was  so  good  and  cheerful,  that  it  was  a  wonderful 
thing  he  did  not  join  his  wife  constantly. 

It  was  now  getting  near  to  Christmas,  but  none 
of  the  family  had  yet  ventured  to  tell  Mrs.  Camp 
bell  the  truth  concerning  the  singing  in  the  church 
although  she  frequently  spoke  of  it.  In  fact,  ever 
since  that  Sabbath  she  had  made  a  point  of  sending 
a  note  to  Theodora  whenever  she  heard  the  piano. 
"  I  know  practising  from  music,"  she  said  in  every 
note,  "  and  I  do  not  like  practising."  Only  Chris 
tina  being  present  at  the  practising  interfered  with 
the  message,  and  many  times  it  had  been  sent  when 
it  was  the  caller  who  was  doing  the  practising.  The 
order  was  always  obeyed,  lest  it  should  be  more 
offensively  repeated,  and  to  no  one  but  Mrs.  Oli- 
phant  did  Theodora  confide  her  reason  for  closing 
the  instrument  so  promptly.  The  message  elicited 
from  Mrs.  Oliphant  scornful  laughter,  and  the  three 
women  listening  for  the  manner  of  its  reception  were 
not  surprised. 

"  They  are  laughing  at  my  order,"  said  Mrs. 
Campbell,  "  what  dreadful  manners  Americans  do 
have !  " 

"  Dora's  manners  are  equally  bad.  She  had  no 
business  to  show  her  the  note,"  said  Isabel. 

"  Dora  is  English;  what  can  you  expect?" 

"  Dora  ought  to  send  for  me  when  she  has  com- 


136  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

pany,"  said  Christina,  "  then  she  would  be  allowed 
to  practise,  would  she  not,  mother?  " 

"  Christina,  I  am  always  willing  to  sacrifice  my 
self  for  my  children,  and  you  profess  to  learn  some 
thing  from  her  playing." 

"  I  do,  and  I  love  to  hear  her  play  and  sing.  Dora 
has  been  kind  to  me,  she  isn't  half  bad." 

"  Well,  Christina,  in  all  proper  things  I  consult 
my  children's  pleasure,  rather  than  my  own  com 
fort." 

Isabel  said  nothing,  and  yet  Theodora  had  made 
many  whist  parties  for  her  pleasure,  persuading  Rob 
ert  to  invite  to  them  such  unmarried  men  as  would 
be  suitable  partners  for  his  sisters  in  life,  as  well 
as  at  the  whist  table.  These  parties  had  always 
terminated  with  supper  and  music,  Christina  being 
the  principal,  and  generally  the  only  performer.  She 
had  taken  both  of  the  sisters  out  with  her,  dressed 
them  for  entertainments,  shown  them  how  to  dress 
themselves,  and  taught  them  those  little  tricks  of  the 
toilet,  which  are  to  women  at  once  so  innocent  and 
so  indispensable.  Many  times  these  services  had 
been  rendered  cheerfully  when  she  was  sick  or  de 
pressed,  but  neither  of  the  girls  had  any  conception 
of  a  kindness,  except  as  it  related  to  themselves — 
how  it  benefited  their  looks  or  their  feelings,  and 
what  results  would  accrue  to  them  from  it.  Never 
once  had  they  expressed  a  sense  of  obligation  for 
any  favor  done  them.  They  took  every  kindness  as 
their  right,  for  they  heard  their  mother  constantly 
assert:  "  Dora  could  never  do  enough  for  them." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  137 

"  She  has  forced  herself  into  our  family  without 
our  desire  or  permission,"  she  would  say,  "  and  if 
she  could  only  understand  it  she  is  a  great  wrong 
and  annoyance  to  us.  If  she  does  teach  Christina 
music  and  singing  and  French,  and  entertain  you 
both  now  and  then,  it  is  her  bounden  duty  to  do  that, 
and  more.  She  is  a  born  schoolmistress  anyway, 
and  no  doubt  feels  quite  at  home  teaching  you  any 
little  thing  she  can." 

This  was  not  a  happy  life  for  Theodora,  but  she 
had  chosen  it,  and  our  choices  are  our  destiny.  It 
was  now  her  duty  to  make  the  best  of  it,  and  if 
Robert  was  only  a  little  loving  and  just,  her  fine 
spirits  and  hopeful  temper  made  her  gay  as  a  bird 
in  spring.  Her  enthusiasms  were  incomprehensible 
to  the  three  women,  they  were  even  repulsive;  for 
neither  the  selfish,  ill-tempered  mother,  nor  the  sel 
fish,  servile  daughters,  could  understand  that  joy, 
which,  coming  from  the  inner  life,  is  illimitably  glad 
and  hopeful,  "  something  afar  from  the  sphere  of 
our  sorrow." 

But  even  Robert  was  now  ashamed  of  his  en 
thusiasms  as  a  lover,  as  a  married  man  he  considered 
them  quite  out  of  place.  They  had  served  their 
purpose  and  ought  to  be  retired  from  the  sensible 
atmosphere  of  daily  life.  So  he  allowed  the  noblest 
and  tenderest  symbols  of  love  to  die  of  cruel  neglect, 
and  his  occasional  breakfasts  with  Theodora  were 
the  only  remnant  of  his  once  passionate  personal 
love.  He  was  quite  willing  to  consider  Dora  as  be 
longing  to  the  whole  family,  and  he  smiled  grimly 


138  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

if  he  remembered  the  days  in  which  he  was  intensely 
jealous  even  of  her  own  father  and  mother's  claim 
on  her  affection. 

One  great  reason  for  Theodora's  life  being  so 
troubled  by  dislike  and  unrest  was  doubtless  because 
her  angel  was  not,  and  could  not,  be  'friends  with 
the  angels  of  her  new  connections.  They  had  no 
business  to  be  in  the  same  house.  They  got  in  each 
other's  way  and  provoked  friction.  And  though 
physical  crowding  is  bad,  spiritual  crowding  is  much 
worse.  Theodora  had  been  well  aware  of  the  an 
tagonism  of  her  angel  to  her  marriage  with  Robert 
Campbell.  By  intuitions,  presentiments,  omens, 
dreams,  and  even  by  clairaudient  words,  she  had  been 
warned  of  matrimonial  troubles. 

But  she  had  an  invincible  faith  in  her  influence 
over  her  intended  husband,  and  as  for  a  fight  with 
others,  or  with  circumstances,  of  neither  was  she 
afraid.  She  had  always  won  her  way  triumphantly. 
She  believed  in  God,  she  believed  in  herself,  and  she 
believed  in  humanity.  The  calibre  of  a  Scotch  fam 
ily  composed  of  three-fourths  women,  was  a  com 
bination  she  had  never  seen,  never  heard  of,  never 
read  of,  and  could  not  possibly  imagine. 

Yes,  she  had  been  abundantly  counselled,  and  she 
remembered  especially  the  last  warning  that  she  re 
ceived  before  her  marriage.  She  was  at  the  Saluta 
tion  Hotel  on  Lake  Windermere,  standing  at  the 
window  of  her  room  looking  over  the  lovely  scene. 
All  Nature  was  calm  as  a  resting  wheel,  the  sky  full 
of  stars;  all  the  mystery  and  majesty  of  earth,  the 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  139 

lake,  the  woods,  the  mountains  encompassed  her. 
And  as  she  stood  there  musing  on  the  past,  and  on 
the  future  as  connected  with  Robert  Campbell,  the 
voice  she  knew  so  well  pleaded  with  her  for  the  last 
time. 

"  Are  you  able?  "  it  asked. 

"  Yes,"  she  answered  softly  but  audibly. 

"  The  fight  will  be  hard." 

"  I  shall  win  it." 

"  Though  as  by  fire!  " 

Then  she  was  alone,  and  she  felt  strangely  desolate 
and  afraid. 

For  though  one  come  from  the  dead,  the  soul  self- 
centred  and  confident  in  its  own  wisdom  will  not 
believe.  Then  it  can  only  learn  its  life's  lesson  by 
those  cruel  experiences  from  which  its  good  angel 
would  so  gladly  have  saved  it. 

"  Though  as  by  fire!  Though  as  by  fire!  "  Often 
she  had  thought  of  that  prophecy  since  her  marriage, 
when  she  had  been  forced  day  after  day  to  say  with 
David: 

"  They  have  spoken  against  me  with  a  lying 
tongue. 

"  They  compassed  me  about  with  words  of  hatred, 
and  fought  against  me  without  cause. 

u  For  my  love  they  are  my  adversaries,  and  they 
have  rewarded  me  evil  for  good,  and  hatred  for 
my  love." 

She  was  sitting  alone  one  afternoon,  and  very 
weary  and  disconsolate  after  a  morning  of  petty 
slights,  and  unkind  words,  when  Robert  entered.  He 


140  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

was  earlier  than  usual  and  more  responsive  to  her 
smile  of  welcome. 

"I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,  Robert,  so  glad!  I 
did  not  expect  you  for  an  hour." 

"  The  minister  called  on  me  this  afternoon,  and 
I  returned  to  the  city  with  him.  He  wants  you  to 
sing,  Dora,  at  the  New  Year's  service.  He  is  going 
to  preach  from  the  first  verse  of  the,  fourteenth  of 
Job :  '  Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman  is  of  few  days 
and  full  of  trouble.'  He  says  the  sermon  will  nec 
essarily  be  solemn  and  warning,  so  he  wishes  you 
to  sing  something  that  lifts  up  the  heart  and  looks 
hopefully  forward." 

"  Are  you  willing  that  I  should  sing,  Robert?  " 

"  Yes,  I  should  like  you  to  do  so." 

"  Then  what  could  be  better  than  Job's  triumphant 
confession,  'I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth'f" 

"  That  is  the  very  thing !  You  sung  it  once  in 
Sheffield.  I  have  never  forgotten  it." 

"  Has  your  mother  been  told  about  my  singing, 
'  O  that  I  had  wings  like  a  dove '  ?  " 

"  No.  I  have  never  found  a  good  opportunity 
to  tell  her.  I  knew  she  would  feel  it  much.  As 
soon  as  you  have  settled  the  matter  with  the  doctor, 
I  will  tell  her  of  both  together." 

The  next  morning  Dr.  Robertson  called  to  see 
Theodora,  and  was  delighted  with  her  selection.  He 
did  not  stay  long,  but  Mrs.  Campbell  was  deeply 
offended  because  she  was  neither  personally  visited 
by  him,  nor  yet  invited  by  Theodora  to  meet  him 
in  her  parlor.  The  lunch  table  was  made  a  fiery 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  141 

furnace  for  her,  and  she  had  not  the  physical  power 
to  resist  the  evil.  Assailed  by  a  sudden  faintness, 
she  was  obliged  to  leave  the  room. 

"  Dora  looks  ill,"  said  Christina. 

"  She  is  always  complaining  lately.  She  had  Dr. 
Fleming  in  the  house  twice  last  week,  had  she  not, 
Isabel?"  Isabel  sighed  deeply,  and  Christina  ab 
sently  nodded  assent.  She  was  counting  the  custard 
cups  and  considering  the  best  way  to  appropriate  the 
one  intended  for  Theodora. 

Jepson,  however,  had  noticed  the  white  face  and 
unsteady  steps  of  the  sick  woman  and  assisted  her 
to  her  own  apartments.  On  his  return  he  was  con 
fronted  by  the  angry  face  of  his  mistress.  She  laid 
down  her  knife  and  fork  with  a  clash  and  asked: 

"How  dared  you  leave  the  room,  Jepson?  I 
hired  you  to  wait  on  the  Miss  Campbells  and  my 
self." 

"  I  thought  Mrs.  Campbell  looked  very  ill, 
ma'am." 

"  You  are  here  to  obey  orders,  not  to  think.  And 
/  am  Mrs.  Campbell,  the  other  is  Mrs.  Robert.  Do 
you  understand?  " 

"  Yes,  ma'am." 

For  some  hours  Theodora  lay  on  the  sofa  in  deep 
sleep,  or  in  some  other  form  of  oblivion.  She  came 
back  to  consciousness  with  the  feeling  of  one  ship 
wrecked  on  a  dark,  desolate  land,  and  after  a  little 
sobbing  cry,  went  upstairs  to  try  and  dress  for  din 
ner.  A  depressing  anxiety,  a  horror  of  the  great 
darkness  from  which  she  had  just  returned  was  on 


142  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

her,  and  as  soon  as  her  exhausting  toilet  was  over, 
she  went  back  to  the  parlor,  and  lifting  a  book  sat 
down  at  a  small  table  with  it  in  her  hand. 

Isabel,  who  was  with  her  mother,  heard  both  the 
ascent  and  descent,  and  directed  her  attention  to  it. 
"  Dora  has  been  dressing  for  dinner,"  she  said. 
"  Her  sickness  has  not  lasted  long." 

"  There  was  nothing  the  matter  with  her." 

"  You  are  looking  very  well,  mother,  but  I  must 
change  my  gown.  Why  not  go  and  question  Dora 
about  the  minister's  visit?  She  ought  to  tell  you 
the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  it." 

"  She  shall  tell  me.  I  will  make  the  inquiry  at 
once." 

Theodora  was  sitting  with  her  elbows  on  the  small 
table,  her  head  in  her  hands  and  the  open  pages  of 
the  book  below  her  heavy  eyes,  when  the  door  was 
imperiously  opened  and  Mrs.  Campbell  entered. 

"  You  have  got  over  your  impromptu  attack,  I 
see,  very  readily."  , 

"  I  feel  better  than  I  did  a  few  hours  ago." 

"  Why  did  Dr.  Robertson  call  on  you  this  morn 
ing?" 

"  He  called  on  business — not  socially." 

"  Money  as  usual,  I  suppose." 

"  He  did  not  name  money." 

"  Then  what  did  he  name?  " 

"  His  business." 

"And  what  was  his  business?" 

"  I  cannot  tell  you — yet." 

"  So  you  are  the  doctor's  confidant !      You   are 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  143 

the  doctor's  adviser!  You  are  set  up  before  me, 
about  the  doctor's  business.  You!  You,  indeed! 
Have  you  argued  the  matter  out  with  the  devil,  as 
to  how  far  you  can  go  with  a  minister?  " 

"  I  never  argue  with  the  devil.  *  Get  thee  be 
hind  me '  is  enough  for  him." 

"  I  perfectly  think  scorn  of  you  and  your  preten 
sions.  I  suppose  the  doctor  is  trying  to  save  your 
soul!" 

"  My  soul  is  saved." 

"  You  are  an  impertinent  huzzy!  " 

"  I  do  not  intend  to  be  impertinent — and  I  do  not 
deserve  such  a  contemptuous  word  as  huzzy." 

"  You  are  a  fifty-fold  huzzy !  You  are  not  read 
ing.  Lift  your  eyes  and  look  at  me !  " 

"  I  would  rather  not." 

"  I  say,  look  at  me.  Why  do  you  keep  your  eyes 
dropped?  Do  you  think  yourself  beautiful  in  that 
attitude?  You  are  full  of  tricks." 

Then  Theodora  lifted  her  eyes  and  looked  steadily 
at  her  tormentor.  They  were  pleading  and  reproach 
ful,  and  full  of  tears.  "  I  should  like  to  be  alone," 
she  said  slowly,  "  I  am  not  well." 

"  I  wish  to  know  the  minister's  business." 

"  I  must  tell  Robert  first." 

"  I  must  tell  Robert  first,"  cried  Mrs.  Campbell 
with  mocking  mimicry.  "  Let  me  tell  you,  Robert 
would  rather  you  never  spoke  to  him!  He  wishes 
you  far  away — he  is  sick  of  you,  as  I  am — he  is  sorry 
he  ever  saw  your  face." 

"  I  do  not  believe  these  things.     Will  you  leave 


144  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

me?  You  are  very  cruel — I  have  not  deserved  such 
abuse."  Once  more  she  dropped  her  eyes  on  her 
book,  but  the  letters  were  blurred  and  the  solid  earth 
seemed  reeling. 

"  Give  me  that  book  and  listen  to  what  I  say !  " 

There  was  no  answer. 

"  Do  you  hear  me?     Give  me  that  book." 

Theodora  neither  spoke  nor  moved,  and  in  a  tragic 
frenzy  of  passion  Mrs.  Campbell  seized  the  book  and 
flung  it  to  the  other  end  of  the  room. 

With  a  shriek,  shrill  yet  weak,  Theodora  tottered 
to  where  it  lay  with  its  pages  crumpled  against  the 
floor,  and  in  the  effort  to  lift  the  volume  she  fell 
like  one  dead  beside  it. 

Then  Ducie  screamed  for  McNab  and  Jepson,  and 
the  two  came  hurrying  in. 

"  She  flung  the  Bible  across  the  room !  She  flung 
the  Bible!" 

"  Stop  talking,  Ducie,  and  help  me  get  the  dress 
of  the  poor  lady  slackened.  Jepson,  run  for  Dr. 
Fleming." 

"  I  will  if  you  say  so,  McNab." 

"  Run  awa',  and  don't  stand  there  like  a  born 
idiot,  then." 

"  I  will  not  have  a  doctor  brought  here,"  said 
Mrs.  Campbell  in  passionate  tones.  "  I  will  not 
have  one!  There  is  no  necessity  for  a  doctor.  I 
say " 

"  Say  nothing  at  all,  ma'am.  Do  you  ken  it  was 
the  Bible  you  flung  across  the  room?  What  devil 
put  it  into  your  heart  and  hand  to  do  the  like  o' 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  145 

that  unforgiveable  sin?  I'm  feared  to  be  in  the 
room  wi'  you,  mistress.  You'll  never  dare  to  pray 
again,  you  meeserable  woman,  you !  " 

For  a  few  minutes  Mrs.  Campbell  was  really 
shocked.  She  went  to  the  book,  straightened  out 
its  leaves,  and  laid  it  on  the  table.  "  I  did  not 
know  it  was  the  Bible,  McNab,"  she  said.  "  No 
one  respects  the  Holy  Scriptures  more  than  I  do.  I 
regret " 

"  The  deed  is  done.  There's  nae  good  in  respect 
ing  and  regretting  now.  Come  here  and  help  us  to 
do  what  we  can,  till  the  doctor  comes." 

"  I  will  not.  It  is  her  fault.  She  would  make 
an  angel  sin.  I  am  innocent,  perfectly  innocent. 
My  God,  what  a  tribulation  the  creature  is !  " 

"  I  wouldna  name  God,  if  I  was  you,"  said  Mc 
Nab  scornfully.  "  Maybe  He'll  forget  you,  if  you 
dinna  remind  Him  o'  your  sinfu'  self." 

"  McNab,  I  give  you  notice  to  leave  my  house 
at  once." 

"  That  is  more  like  you,  Mistress  Campbell,  but 
I'm  not  going  out  o'  this  house  till  the  master  says 
so.  I  am  his  hired  woman,  not  yours,  thank  God! 
and  I  am  not  feared  to  speak  the  Holy  Name,  as 
you  may  well  be.  Here's  the  doctor — thank  God 
again  for  that  mercy!  You  had  better  leave  the 
room,  or  you'll  be  getting  the  words  you're  well 
deserving,  mistress." 

"  I  shall  stay  just  where  I  am." 

'  You're  a  dour  woman;  you  are  that." 

Dr.    Fleming    entered    as    the    last    words    were 


146  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

spoken.  He  brought  with  him  an  atmosphere  of 
help  and  strength,  and  barely  glancing  at  Mrs.  Camp 
bell  he  knelt  down  beside  the  sick  woman.  In  a 
few  moments  he  rose,  and  calling  Jepson,  ordered 
him  to  "go  to  No.  400  Renfrew  Street,  and  bring 
back  with  him  Jean  Malcolm." 

"  I  cannot  spare  Jepson,  doctor,"  said  Mrs. 
Campbell.  "  It  is  nearly  time  to  serve  dinner." 

"  Do  as  I  tell  you,  man,  and  be  off  at  once.  Don't 
waste  a  moment.  Take  a  cab." 

"Doctor " 

"  Mrs.  Campbell,  this  is  a  serious  case.  We  have 
no  time  to  think  of  dinners.  I  fear  there  is  a  slight 
concussion  of  the  brain." 

Then  turning  to  McNab,  he  said :  "  There  must 
be  a  mattress  brought  down  here,  and  I  shall  want 
two  men  to  carry  the  patient  upstairs.  Have  you 
men  in  the  house?  " 

"  No,  sir,  none  worth  the  name  o'  men.  I'll 
step  over  to  the  hotel  and  get  a  couple  o'  their 
porters." 

"  That  will  do." 

"  Doctor,  if  there  are  any  extraordinary  arrange 
ments  to  make,  I  am  Mrs.  Traquair  Campbell." 

"  I  know  you,  Mrs.  Campbell.  I  have  a  very 
true  knowledge  of  you." 

"  Then,  sir,  give  your  orders  to  me.  What  do 
you  wish?  " 

"  I  wish  you  to  leave  the  room.  If  your  dinner 
is  ready,  you  had  better  eat  it.  I  may  want  your 
man  for  some  time." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  147 

"  Sir,  you  are  rude.  Will  you  remember  this  is 
my  house?  " 

"  It  is  not  your  house.  It  is  your  son's  house, 
and  this  lady,  I  take  it,  is  his  wife.  So  then,  it  is 
her  house." 

"  Yes,  she  is  my  son's  wife,  more's  the  pity,  more's 
the  shame,  more's  the  sorrow " 

"  My  God,  woman !  Have  you  no  heart,  no  pity, 
no  sense  of  duty  to  a  sick  woman?  "  As  he  spoke 
he  rose,  and  with  an  angry  face  and  long  strides 
walked  to  the  door  and  threw  it  wide  open,  uttering 
only  one  fierce  word:  "Go!" 

A  better  and  a  more  powerful  spirit  than  her  own 
gave  this  order,  and  she  perforce  obeyed  it;  but  when 
she  reached  the  dining-room,  she  threw  herself  on 
the  sofa  in  a  frantic  passion. 

"  I  have  been  insulted,"  she  cried.  "  I  have  been 
insulted  shamefully.  Oh,  Isabel!  that  woman  will 
be  the  death  of  me !  " 

"  Perhaps  she  will  die  herself,  mother.  Ducie 
says  she  has  hurt  her  brain  in  falling — a  concussion, 
she  said." 

"  Not  a  bad  concussion,  though " 

"  No,  a  slight  one,  but  one  never  knows,  and  she 
is  so  excitable " 

Thus  they  comforted  each  other  until  the  porters 
arrived,  and  went  upstairs  for  the  mattress.  Their 
rough  voices  and  heavy  feet,  and  the  natural  con 
fusion  attending  their  business  roused  Mrs.  Camp 
bell  and  her  daughters  to  a  pitch  of  distraction,  only 
to  be  relieved  by  motion  and  loud  talking.  Walk- 


148  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

ing  up  and  down  the  room,  and  striking  her  large 
cruel  hands  together,  Mrs.  Campbell  was  heard 
above  all  the  confusion  attending  the  removal  of 
Theodora;  and  in  the  midst  of  this  confusion,  Rob 
ert  came  home. 

"Whatever  is  the  matter,  Jepson?"  he  asked  in 
an  angry  voice. 

"  The  doctor  will  tell  you,  sir.  I  fear  my  young 
mistress  is  dying." 

He  did  not  answer,  but  went  rapidly  to  his  rooms. 
They  were  in  the  utmost  disorder,  the  windows  open 
and  the  rooms  empty.  He  rushed  upstairs  then, 
and  Dr.  Fleming  met  him  at  the  door  of  Theodora's 
room. 

"  Doctor,  where  is  my  wife?     What  is  wrong?  " 

"  She  had  a  long  fainting  fit,  fell  heavily,  and 
has,  I  fear,  slight  concussion  of  the  brain." 

"What  cause,  what  reason  was  there?" 

"  Her  maid  will  tell  you.      I  will  send  her." 

"  But  I  must  see  my  wife  first!  " 

"  You  cannot.  I  shall  stay  here  until  I  judge 
it  safe  to  leave  her.  I  have  sent  for  a  competent 
nurse,  and  expect  her  every  moment." 

"  Surely,  doctor — there  is  no  fear — of  death." 

"  I  should  not  like  another  lapse  of  conscious 
ness." 

Robert  did  not  speak.  He  steadied  himself  by 
grasping  the  baluster,  and  the  doctor  left  him,  and 
sent  out  Ducie. 

"  How  did  this  happen,  Ducie?  "  he  asked. 

Then  Ducie  told  him  everything.      She  described 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  149 

the  way  her  mistress  was  sitting,  and  the  entrance 
of  Mrs.  Campbell.  She  remembered  the  words, 
and  the  tones  in  which  the  conversation  had  taken 
place,  and  the  inability  of  her  mistress  to  answer 
the  last  two  questions — the  snatching  of  the  book 
from  the  table,  and  the  flinging  of  it  to  the  end 
of  the  room,  and  after  an  emphatic  pause  she  added : 
"  The  book  was  the  Bible,  sir." 

Campbell  had  not  spoken  a  word  during  Ducie's 
recital,  but  at  her  last  remark  he  started  as  if 
shocked,  and  then  said:  "You  have  told  me  the 
truth,  Ducie?  " 

"  Nothing  but  the  truth.      Ask  Jepson." 

"  I  believe  you.  Go  back  to  your  mistress,  and 
as  soon  as  it  is  possible  tell  her  I  was  at  the  door 
but  not  allowed  to  enter." 

Then  he  went  slowly  downstairs,  and  the  talking 
and  exclamations  ceased  sharply  and  suddenly  when 
he  entered  the  dining-room,  for  his  face,  and  his  in 
tentional  silence,  was  like  that  which  Isabel  had  not 
inaptly  compared  to  a  black  frost. 

After  a  short  interval,  during  which  he  had  frozen 
every  one  dumb,  he  looked  steadily  at  Mrs.  Camp 
bell  and  said: 

"  Mother,  I  am  amazed  at  what  I  hear." 

"  You  may  well  be  amazed,  Robert,"  was  the 
answer.  "  I  myself  am  nearly  distracted,"  and  then 
she  told  her  story,  with  much  skill  and  all  the  pic 
turesque  idioms  she  fell  naturally  into  when  under 
great  emotion.  Her  son  listened  to  her  as  he  had 
listened  to  Ducie,  without  question  or  comment.  He 


150  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

was  trying  to  weigh  everything  justly,   for  justice 
was  in  his  opinion  the  cardinal  virtue. 

"  The  dispute  arose,  then,  concerning  Dr.  Robert 
son's  visit  to  Theodora?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes.  I  had  a  right  to  know  why  he  called,  and 
she  would  not  tell  me." 

"  Theodora  had  no  right  to  tell  you.  Out  of 
kindness  the  reason  for  his  visit  had  been  kept  from 
you.  I  will  tell  you  now.  He  wished  Theodora 
to  sing  at  the  New  Year's  service,  and  he  called  to 
see  what  her  selection  would  be." 

"  The  organist  ought  to  select  the  music,  not  Dora 
Campbell." 

"  Allow  me  to  finish.  She  chose  '  /  know  that 
my  Redeemer  liveth.'  " 

He  ceased  speaking  and  took  his  place  at  the 
dinner  table.  "  Order  dinner,  Isabel,"  he  added, 
in  a  quiet  voice. 

Mrs.  Campbell  was  speechless.  She  was  stunned 
by  anger  and  amazement.  Her  lips  trembled  and 
her  eyes  filled  with  tears — a  most  extraordinary  ex 
hibition  of  feeling  in  her.  Isabel  with  a  piteous 
look  directed  his  attention  to  her  mother,  and  he 
said: 

"  Take  your  chair,  mother.  I  want  my  dinner. 
I  have  had  a  hard  day.  The  men  at  the  works 
are  quarrelling  and  going  to  strike.  I  did  not  re 
quire  extra  quarrelling  at  home." 

"  I  cannot  eat,  Robert.  I  will  not  eat  again  in 
this  house.  I  can  laugh  at  insults  from  strangers, 
but  when  my  son  connives  with  his  English  wife 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

to  deceive  me  and  make  me  humble  myself  before 
her,  it  is  time  I  went  away — I  don't  care  where  to." 

"  You  have  your  own  house  at  Saltcoats." 

"  It  is  rented." 

Robert  made  no  remark  and  the  dinner  went  si 
lently  on.  Just  as  it  was  finished  the  doctor  asked 
for  Robert,  and  he  left  the  room  to  see  him.  "  Your 
wife  has  fallen  asleep,"  he  said,  "  and,  Campbell,  you 
must  see  to  it  that  she  is  not  awakened  for  anything 
less  than  a  fire  or  an  earthquake."  A  short  con 
versation  followed,  and  after  it  Robert  went  directly 
to  the  library. 

Greatly  to  his  astonishment,  his  mother  followed 
him  there.  He  laid  aside  his  cigar,  and  placed  a 
chair  for  her.  She  had  now  assumed  the  only  tem 
per  likely  to  influence  him,  and  he  was  prepared  to 
be  amenable  to  her  plea  before  she  made  it. 

"  I  am  sorry,  Robert,  that  you  have  to  bear  this 
trouble.  If  it  was  only  me,  I  would  not  care.  Are 
you  going  to  turn  me  and  your  sisters  out  of  your 
house  for  that  strange  woman?  " 

"  That  strange  woman  is  my  wife.  God  has  told 
me  to  leave  father  and  mother,  and  cleave  unto  my 
wife." 

"  It  is  very  hard." 

"  Let  her  alone,  and  she  will  not  interfere  with 
you." 

"  Isabel  and  Christina  know " 

"  Excuse  me,  she  has  been  very  kind  and  helpful 
to  my  sisters.  She  would  love  you  all  if  you  would 
let  her." 


152  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Her  singing  in  the  church " 

"  Was  a  great  delight,  even  to  you.  We  were 
silent  about  it,  out  of  kindness.  I  will  not  discuss 
that  subject." 

"  Where  would  you  advise  us  to  go?  " 

"  I  do  not  advise  you  to  go  at  all." 

"  I  could  not  live  with  your  wife  if  she  is  going 
to  faint  every  time  she  quarrels  with  me." 

"  Mother,  I  know  all  about  your  quarrel  with 
Theodora.  I  have  heard  it  from  Jepson  and  Ducie, 
and  I  know  what  the  doctor  thinks  of  it.  Allow 
me  to  say  your  conduct  was  inexcusable.  I  would 
not  blame  you  before  the  girls,  but  that  is  my 
opinion." 

"  Her  silence  was  so  provoking,  you  don't  know, 
Robert " 

"  I  know  that  no  provocation  ought  to  have  caused 
you  to  make  the  Bible  the  missile  of  your  temper. 
It  was  an  impious  act.  I  shudder  at  it." 

"  I  did  not  know  it  was  the  Bible." 

"  Mother,  a  Bible  is  known  on  sight.  No  other 
book  looks  like  it.  No  form,  no  shape  no  color, 
can  hide  the  Bible.  There  is  a  kind  of  divinity  in 
this  personality  of  the  Book.  I  have  often  thought 
so." 

"  I  shall  sorrow  for  that  act  as  long  as  I  live, 
Robert.  She  made  me  do  it.  Yes,  she  did!  " 

"  No,  she  did  not." 

"  Why  was  she  reading  the  Bible  at  that  hour  of 
the  day?  If  it  had  been  morning  or  night,  I  might 
have  thought  of  it." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  153 

"  Theodora  reads  the  Bible  at  all  hours." 
"  She  does  nothing  like  any  one  else." 
"  Theodora  is  my  wife.      I  love  her.      She  suits 
me  exactly." 

"  And  I  and  your  sisters  no  longer  suit  you." 
"  You  are,  as  I  said  before,  my  mother  and  my 
sisters.      You  are  Campbells.      That  is  enough." 

"  And,  blessed  be  our  ancestors,  we  are  a'  pure 
Campbells!  Your  father  was  o'  the  Argyle  clan, 
and  I  was  o'  the  Cawdor  clan,  but  whether  Argyle, 
Cawdor,  Breadalbane,  or  Laudon,  we  are  a'  Camp 
bells.  We  a'  wear  the  wild  myrtle  and  we  hae  a' 
the  same  battle-cry,  'Wild  Cruachan!'  and  we  a' 
hae  hated  and  loved  the  same  folk  and  the  same 
things,  and  even  if  I  had  nae  ither  claim  on  yen, 
I  would  only  require  to  say,  4  Robert  Campbell,  Mar 
garet  Campbell  is  needing  ye.' ' 

"  You  are  my  mother.  That  claim  includes  all 
claims." 

"  Doubly  dear  for  being  a  Campbell  mother." 
"  Yes.     I  am  glad  and  proud  of  that  fact." 
Then  she  stretched  out  her  hand,  and  he  clasped 
and  held  it  firmly,  as  he  walked  with  her  to  the 
door. 

"Good-night,  mother!"  he  said.  "I  must  go 
to  Dora  now.  We  will  drop  this  day  out  of  our 
memories." 

Stepping  proudly  to  the  lilt  of  her  Campbell 
eulogy,  she  went  to  her  daughters  with  flashing  eyes 
and  a  kindling  face,  and  after  a  few  moments  of 
thrilling  silence  said: 


154  ^  Reconstructed  Marriage 

11 1  hae  got  my  way,  girls,  by  the  name  o'  the 
Campbells.  Do d!  but  it's  the  great  name !  It 
unlocked  his  heart  like  a  pass-key — yet  I  had  to  stoop 
a  wee.  I  had  to  stoop  in  order  to  conquer." 

"  Mother,  you  always  manage  Robert." 

"  I  ne'er  saw  the  man  I  couldna  manage,  that  is, 
if  he  was  a  sober  man;  but  I'll  tak'  the  management 
out  o'  her — see  if  I  don't.  I'll  mak'  her  eat  the 
humble  pie  she  baked  for  me — I'll  hae  the  better  o' 
the  English  huzzy  yet — I'll  sort  her,  when  I  get 
the  right  time.  I  can  do  naething  o'  an  extreme 
nature  just  yet.  It  has  been  a  calamitous  day,  girls, 
morning  and  night.  Now,  go  awa'  to  your  ain 
rooms,  I  be  to  think  the  circumstances  weel  over." 

"  Mother,  you  are  a  wonderful  woman,"  said 
Christina. 

"  Also  a  very  discreet  woman,"  added  Isabel. 

And  the  old  lady  walked  to  the  sideboard,  filled 
a  glass  with  wine,  lifted  it  upwards,  and  nodding 
to  her  daughters,  said  in  a  low  but  triumphant  voice : 

"Here's  to  the  Campbells!     Whets  like  us?" 

At  the  same  moment  Robert  Campbell  was  step 
ping  proudly  upstairs  with  a  heart  full  of  racial 
pride.  He  had  forgotten  the  ironworks.  He  was 
a  Campbell  of  the  Argyle  clan,  he  was  kin  to  all 
the  Breadalbanes,  and  Cawdors,  and  Loudons.  He 
was  a  Campbell,  and  all  the  glory  of  the  large  and 
powerful  family  was  his  glory.  At  that  moment 
he  heard  the  dirl  of  the  bagpipes  and  felt  the  rough 
beauty  of  the  thistle,  and  knew  in  his  heart  of  hearts, 
that  he  was  a  son  of  Scotland,  an  inheritor  of  all 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  155 

her  passions  and  traditions,  her  loves  and  her  ha 
treds,  and  glad  and  proud  to  be  so  favored. 

But  even  at  this  critical  hour  of  his  wife's  life, 
he  could  not  be  much  blamed,  for  all  is  race.  There 
is  no  other  truth,  because  it  includes  all  others. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   NAMING   OF   THE    CHILD 

IT  was  four  weeks  before  Theodora  could  leave 
her  room,  and  for  long  afterwards  she  was  an  in 
valid.  But  in  her  sickness  she  had  peace,  and  the 
solacing  company  of  her  friends,  Mrs.  Robertson 
and  Mrs.  Oliphant;  and  as  the  winter  passed  her 
health  and  strength  and  beauty  returned  to  her. 
This  renewed  vitality  was  indeed  so  certain  that  the 
announcement  of  the  Easter  services  contained  a 
promise  that  Mrs.  Campbell  would  sing  some  suit 
able  solo. 

At  the  breakfast  table  on  Easter  Sunday,  Robert 
Campbell  spoke  of  this  event  to  his  family. 

"  Theodora  will  sing  at  this  morning's  service, 
mother,"  he  said. 

"  The  minister  has  already  made  fuss  enough 
about  the  circumstance.  There  is  no  necessity  for 
you  to  go  over  the  news." 

"  I  think  you  had  better  not  go  to  church  this 
morning." 

"  I  assure  you  I  intend  to  go — for  your  sake. 
And  am  I  to  be  denied  the  comfort  of  my  Easter 
sermon,  because  of  a  song  which  I  shall  not  listen 
to?" 

"  Please  yourself.  This  time  you  have  been 
warned." 

156 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  157 

"  I  shall  do  my  duty,  that  always  pleases  me.  And 
I  need  no  warnings.  I  am  not  a  creature  made  of 
nerves  and  fancies.  I  am  afraid  of  no  woman." 

"  Christina,  as  you  are  so  fond  of  music,  Theo 
dora  will  take  you  with  her  to  the  organ-loft  if  you 
wish." 

"  O,  brother,  how  happy  I  shall  be!  " 

"  Christina  Campbell,  you  will  sit  decently  in  our 
own  pew  with  your  sister  and  myself." 

"  Poor  Christina !  "  said  Robert,  and  he  laid  his 
hand  kindly  on  her  shoulder  as  he  passed. 

"  Poor  Robert !  Say  that,  and  you  say  the  truth," 
answered  Mrs.  Campbell. 

It  was  a  glorious  day,  the  church  and  even  the 
aisles  were  crowded  and  the  doctor  preached  the 
finest  sermon  of  his  long  pastorate.  His  tall,  stately 
form,  his  piercing  eyes,  his  thin  face — austere  but 
tender — were  never  so  immediate  and  so  solemnly 
authoritative,  and  every  heart  thrilled  as  in  a  grand 
resonant  voice  he  cried: 

"  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become 
the  firstfruits  of  them  that  slept." 

His  preaching  was  usually  logical,  invasive,  not 
to  be  forgotten,  but  this  morning  all  he  said  was 
vitalized  by  his  own  lively,  living  faith.  He  had 
caught  the  very  spirit  of  Paul,  and  was  carried  by 
it  far  beyond,  and  above  all  arguments  and  sequences, 
until  his  glowing  climax  could  find  no  grander  words 
than: 

"  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead,  and  become 
the  firstfruits  of  them  that  slept." 


158  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

To  these  words  he  emphatically  closed  the  Testa 
ment,  and  there  were  a  few  moments  of  profound, 
sensitive  silence.  Then,  like  a  lark  mounting  heaven 
ward,  Theodora  burst  into  the  triumphant  melody: 
"/  know  that  my  Redeemer  I'vueth!  " 
It  was  an  angelic  "  Amen  "  to  that  old  sanguine 
assurance,  which  possesses  so  immovably  the  heart 
of  humanity.  The  ecstasy  of  hope,  the  surety  of 
faith,  the  glory  of  man's  destiny  filled  with  unspeak 
able  joy  the  whole  building,  and  many  of  the  reverent 
souls  in  it  had  momentary  experience  of 

"  That  freer  step,  that  fuller  breath, 

That  wide  horizon's  grander  view, 
That  sense  of  life  that  knows  no  death, 
That  life  that  maketh  all  things  new." 

For  the  singer  had  filled  every  note  of  the  immortal 
music  with  her  own  beautiful,  happy  soul,  and  the 
congregation — old  and  young — went  to  their  homes 
loving  her. 

Robert's  heart  burned  within  him,  for  while  shar 
ing  the  enthusiasm  of  the  crowd  he  had  also  his 
personal  delight  in  the  knowledge  that  this  dear, 
clever  woman  was  his  wife,  and  that  she  loved  him. 
He  went  to  the  foot  of  the  gallery  stairs  and  waited 
there  for  her.  He  clasped  her  hand  and  looked 
into  her  face  with  beaming  eyes  as  the  elders  and 
deacons  gathered  round  her  with  eloquent  thanks, 
and  all  the  way  home  he  forgot  every  one  but  Theo 
dora. 

A  few  days  after  Easter  Sunday,   Robert  came 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  159 

home  earlier  than  usual,  but  he  entered  his  wife's 
presence  with  such  a  pleasant  countenance,  that  she 
rose  smiling  and  went  to  meet  him. 

"  I  have  come  to  tell  you  something  I  hope  will 
please  you,  Dora,"  he  said.  "  Mr.  Oliphant  has 
taken  a  furnished  villa  at  Inverkip,  and  there  is 
another  to  let  a  few  hundred  yards  distant.  Inver 
kip  is  so  near  Glasgow,  I  could  run  down  to  you 
frequently — always  on  Friday  or  Saturday  until 
Monday.  What  do  you  say,  if  I  take  the  vacant 
villa?" 

"O,  Robert,  I  should  be  delighted!" 

"  Then  I  will  hire  it  for  the  season,  and  you  can 
have  your  piano  and  books  and  what  other  things 
you  wish  easily  shipped  there.  Consult  Mrs.  Oli 
phant,  she  will  advise  you  just  what  to  do." 

"  Dear  Robert,  you  make  me  more  happy  than  I 
can  tell." 

"  And  the  Oliphants  will  be  delighted  you  are 
going  to  be  near  them.  There  may  be  some  nice 
families  there,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  Dr.  Robertson 
will  be  of  the  number." 

All  came  to  pass  like  a  wish,  and  early  in  April 
Theodora  was  comfortably  settled  at  Inverkip,  and 
the  Oliphants  and  Dr.  Robertson  soon  followed  her. 
Inverkip  was  hardly  a  fashionable  summer  resort, 
but  it  was  pleasant  and  secluded,  and  also  beautifully 
situated — facing  Inellen,  and  the  slopes  of  Cowal, 
with  a  fine  background  of  mountains. 

After  a  winter  in  dark,  wet,  bitter  Glasgow,  the 
country  in  April  was  like  Paradise.  Robert  went 


160  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

down  with  her  one  lovely  Friday,  Ducie  and  two 
other  servants,  with  such  furniture  and  ornaments 
as  they  thought  necessary,  having  preceded  them 
nearly  a  week.  So  the  villa  was  in  comparative 
order  and  a  perfect  little  dinner  awaited  them.  Theo 
dora  experienced  a  child's  enchantment;  her  simple, 
eager  surprise,  her  deep  sense  of  the  wonder  and 
beauty  of  the  brooding  spring,  and  her  delightful 
expression  of  it,  went  to  Robert's  heart.  For  her 
tender  eyes  were  laughing  with  boundless  good 
humor,  her  lips  parted  as  if  forced  to  speak  by  the 
inner  fulness  of  her  happy  heart,  and  he  saw  in  her 

— "  a  soul 

Joying  to  find  itself  alive, 
Lord  over  Nature,  lord  of  the  visible  earth, 
Lord  of  the  senses  five." 

"  There  is  even  a  taste  of  green  things  in  the  air, 
Robert,"  she  said;  "and  look  at  the  trees!  They 
are  misty  with  buds  and  plumes,  and  tufts  and  tas 
sels;  and  the  larches  and  pines  are  whispering  like 
a  thousand  girls.  O,  it  is  heavenly!  And  listen 
to  the  waters  running  and  leaping  down  the  moun 
tains!  It  is  a  tongue  of  life  in  the  lonely  places," 
and  as  she  passed  the  open  piano,  she  stood  still, 
touched  a  few  notes,  and  sang  in  a  captivating, 
simple  manner: 

"  O  the  springtime!  the  springtime! 

Who  does  not  know  it  well? 
When  the  little  birds  begin  to  build. 
And  the  buds  begin  to  swell, 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  161 

When  the  sun  and  the  clouds  play  hide  and  seek, 
And  the  lambs  are  softly  bleating; 

And  the  color  mounts  to  the  maiden's  cheek, 
At  her  lover's  tender  greeting, — 

In  the  springtime,  in  the  joyous  springtime." 

Then  Robert  stayed  her  simple  song,  saying:  "Let 
us  go  and  walk  in  the  garden  while  I  smoke  my 
cigar."  And  she  went  gladly,  and  they  walked  and 
talked  together  until  the  soft  gray  afternoon  was 
verging  to  purple  and  red  on  the  horizon. 

That  night  her  heart  was  too  full  of  hope  and 
sweet  content  to  let  her  sleep.  She  had  not  been 
as  happy  for  many  months.  She  had  not  been  as 
hopeful.  She  told  herself  this  detached  life  was 
all  that  was  required  to  secure  Robert's  affection, 
and  that  six  months  of  it  would  make  him  impatient 
of  any  intrusion  into  the  sacredness  of  his  home. 
And  she  was  full  of  sweet,  innocent  plans  to  increase 
and  settle  certainly  and  firmly  the  treasure  of  his 
love.  They  kept  her  waking,  so  she  rose  long  be 
fore  morning,  and,  opening  a  casement,  looked  out 
into  the  dusky  night  full  of  stars.  She  sat  there, 
watching  Nature  in  those  ineffable  moments  when 
she  is  dreaming,  until  the  cold  white  light  of  the 
dawning  showed  her  the  waning  moon  blue  in  the 
west. 

The  next  day  Robert  went  fishing,  and  Theodora 
put  in  order  the  china,  crystal,  and  fine  damask,  and 
the  books  and  ornaments  she  had  brought  down  to 
Inverkip.  Robert  praised  what  she  had  done,  vow 
ing  she  would  make  the  best  of  housekeepers;  and 


162  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

the  evening  and  the  next  day  were  altogether  full 
of  love  and  sweet  content. 

Then  Robert  went  back  to  Glasgow  and  business, 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oliphant  and  Dr.  Robertson's 
family  arrived.  The  young  wife  visited  and  helped 
her  friends,  and  they  spent  long,  pleasant  evenings 
at  each  other's  houses.  Theodora  said  to  herself: 
"  Things  are  not  going  as  badly  with  me  as  I 
thought,  and  I  wonder  if  we  ever  know  if  bad  is 
bad,  or  good  is  good." 

Many  happy  weeks  followed  this  initial  one  and 
Theodora  was  grateful  for  every  pleasant  hour,  for 
she  was  facing  the  trial  and  the  glory  of  maternity 
and  she  wished  her  child's  prenatal  influences  to  be 
favorable  on  every  side.  The  social  life  of  Inverkip 
could  not  in  its  present  conditions  be  called  fashion 
able,  and  that  was  a  good  thing,  for  few  women 
can  go  into  fashionable  society  without  catching  its 
fashionable  insanity,  whatever  it  may  be  at  the  time. 
Theodora  spent  many  quiet,  delightful  hours  with 
her  friends  the  Oliphants  and  Robertsons,  but  her 
chief  pleasure  she  took  from  the  hand  of  Nature. 

Every  fine  day  she  was  up  among  the  great  hills, 
and  it  is  a  bad  heart  that  is  not  purified  by  walking 
on  them.  She  was  passionately  fond  of  birds,  and 
had  the  power  to  attract  them  to  her.  Morning 
and  evening  she  fed  at  her  dining-room  window 

"  The  bird  that  man   loves  best, 
The  pious  bird  with  scarlet  breast, 
The  little  English  robin." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  163 

They  crowded  the  sweet  briar  bush  that  grew  be 
side  the  window,  and  praised  and  thanked  her  in 
the  sweetest  songs  mortal  ever  heard.  The  blue 
cushat's  "  croodle "  and  its  mournful  love  mono 
logue  moved  her  to  sympathetic  tears.  She  was  sure 
the  pretty  faithful  creature  had  a  forgetful,  or  un 
kind  mate.  The  swallows  cradling  themselves  in 
the  air,  and  chattering  so  amiably;  the  tiny  wren's 
quick,  short  song;  the  fond  and  faithful  bullfinch 
couples;  the  honest,  respectable  thrushes;  the  pilfer 
ing  blackbirds;  the  nightingale's  solemn  music  in  the 
night;  the  lark's  velvety,  supple,  indefatigable  song 
in  the  early  morning — these,  and  many  more  of  the 
winged  voices  of  the  firmament,  she  understood;  but 
to  the  humble,  poorly-clad  lark,  she  gave  an  ardent 
affection.  To  her  it  was  a  bird  of  heaven,  living 
on  love  and  light,  singing  for  half-an-hour  without 
a  second's  pause,  rising  vertically  a  thousand  yards 
as  she  sang,  without  losing  a  note,  and  sending  earth 
ward  exquisite  waterfalls  of  song. 

In  this  sane  and  peaceful  life,  month  after  month 
went  onward  delightfully,  while  she  waited  in  the 
fulness  of  health  and  hope  for  the  child  which  God 
would  give  her.  During  these  months  Robert  also 
had  been  happy.  Now  and  then  there  had  been 
invasions  of  the  lower  man,  but  in  the  main  he  was 
joyous  and  amiable,  thoughtful  for  her  comfort,  and 
delighted  to  share  all  her  hopes  and  pleasures.  He 
had  insisted  on  his  mother  and  sisters  going  to  the 
Bridge  of  Allan  for  the  summer  months,  had  given 
Jepson  and  Mrs.  McNab  holiday,  and  practically 


164  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

closed  the  Glasgow  house  until  September.  And 
he  had  found  Inverkip  so  pleasant,  that  he  was  even 
more  with  Theodora  than  his  promise  demanded. 

One  day  near  the  end  of  July  Mrs.  McNab  came 
to  Inverkip  and  called  on  Theodora,  who  was  de 
lighted  to  see  her.  In  a  few  minutes  she  began  to 
take  off  her  bonnet  and  shawl.  "  I  hae  been  think 
ing  things  o'er,"  she  said,  "  and  I  hae  made  up  my 
mind  to  stay  wi'  you  the  next  four  weeks — for  there's 
nane  that  I  can  see  about  this  house  fit  to  take  my 
place — a  wheen  lilting  lasses,  tee-heeing  and  giggling 
as  if  life  was  a  dance-hall." 

"  They  are  nice,  good  girls,  McNab." 

"  They  may  be,  but  they  are  flighty  and  nervous, 
and  they  hae  no  experience.  I  am  going  to  take 
care  o'  you  and  the  house  mysel'.  When  you  are 
sick " 

"  McNab,  I  am  in  splendid  health." 

"  That's  a'  right.  Splendid  health  you  have,  and 
splendid  health  you  will  require,  and  some  one  to 
keep  people  out  o'  the  house  that  arena  wanted  near 
it.  I  am  not  going  awa',  so  you  needna  speak  the 
word.  Is  your  ain  mother  coming  to  you?  " 

"  She  cannot.  They  will  have  to  move  next 
month." 

"  Weel,  then,  you  arena  to  be  fretted  wi'  any 
other  mother,  and  it  will  take  an  extraordinar'  woman 
— like  mysel' — to  be  all  you  want,  and  to  fend  off 
all  you  don't  want.  I  am  gey  fond  o'  newborn 
babies — poor  wee  things,  shipwrecked  on  a  cold,  bad 
world — and  if  there  isna  some  sensible  kind-hearted 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  165 

body  wi'  your  bairn,  they  will  be  trying  their  auld 
world  tricks  wi'  it.  I  shall  stay  here  and  see  the 
bonnie  wee  thing  isna  left  to  their  mercy." 

"What  do  you  mean?  You  frighten  me,  Mc- 
Nab." 

"  I  mean,  that  if  the  bairn  is  left  to  any  auld- 
farrant  nurse,  she  will  wash  it  in  whiskey  as  soon 
as  it  comes  into  the  world,  and  there  is  nae  doubt 
in  my  mind,  that  the  spirit  isna  pleasant  to  the  tender 
skin  o'  the  poor  wean." 

"  Oh,  McNab  1  what  a  dreadful  custom !  " 

"  Weel,  it  is  an  auld,  auld  custom,  and  though 
some  are  giving  it  up,  there  are  mair  that  stick  to 
it.  If  Mrs.  Traquair  Campbell  should  be  here,  I'm 
feared  the  whiskey  bottle  would  be  gey  close  to  the 
washbowl.  And  you  wouldna  like  it." 

"  I  would  not  permit  it." 

"How  would  you  help  it?  Tell  me  that.  The 
only  time  you  managed  that  woman  you  had  to 
nearly  die  to  do  it,  and  I'm  not  clear  that  you  got 
the  better  o'  her  then." 

"  She  will  not  be  here,  McNab.  She  will  not  be 
asked." 

McNab  snapped  her  fingers.  "'Asked,'  is  it? 
She  will  walk  into  this  house  as  if  it  was  her  ain. 
'  It  is  my  son's  house,'  she  will  say,  and  then  she'll 
proceed  to  use  her  son's  house  as  if  the  de'il  had  sent 
her  to  destroy  everything  that  belongs  to  other  folk; 
and  day  and  night  she'll  make  quarrelling  and  mis 
ery.  That's  Mrs.  Traquair  Campbell's  way,  and 
the  hale  o'  her  brood  is  like  her." 


1 66  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Now,  McNab,  you  know  Mr.  Robert  Campbell 
is  very  different.  You  must  not  speak  ill  of  my 
husband." 

"  No,  ma'am.  There's  two  Robert  Campbells. 
Ane  o'  them  is  weel  worth  the  love  you're  giving 
him;  the  other  is  like  the  auld  man  that  tormented 
the  Saints  themsel's.  He'll  get  kicked  out  some  day, 
nae  doubt  o'  it." 

"  Mr.  Campbell  told  me  he  had  given  you  a  holi 
day  until  the  first  of  September.  He  spoke  very 
well  of  you." 

"  I  have  had  mair  holiday  than  I  want  now." 

"Where  were  you?" 

"  I  was  in  Edinburgh,  seeing  the  world  and  the 
ways  o'  it." 

"  What  did  you  think  of  the  world  and  its  ways?  " 

"  I  dinna  think  them  fit  to  talk  about.  I'll  go 
now,  and  give  things  a  bit  sort  up.  I'll  warrant 
them  requiring  the  same." 

So  McNab  got — or  rather  took — her  way,  and 
soon  after  appeared  in  the  kitchen  in  her  large  white 
mutch  and  apron.  "  Now,  lasses,"  she  said  in  her 
most  commanding  manner,  "  I  am  come  here  on  a 
special  invite  to  keep  you  and  the  house  in  order 
during  the  tribulation  o'  the  mistress.  But  you'll 
find  me  a  pleasant  body  to  live  wi',  if  you  behave 
yoursel's  and  let  the  lads  alane.  If  you  don't,  you 
will  find  you  have  got  to  do  wi'  the  Mischief." 

"The  lads,  ma'am?"  said  a  smart  young  lassie; 
"  the  lads !  We  have  not  a  particle  o'  use  for  them 
— auld  or  young." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  167 

"What's  your  name?" 

"  Maggie." 

"  Weel,  Maggie,  you  are  a  sensible  lass,  and  you 
may  now  make  Mistress  McNab — that's  mysel' — a 
cup  o'  tea,  and  if  there's  a  slice  o'  cold  beef  or  a 
bit  o'  meat  pie  in  the  house " 

"  There's  neither  meat  nor  pie  in  the  house." 

"  Then,  Maggie,  gie  me  a  rizzard  haddie  wi'  my 
tea.  I'm  easy  pleased  except  wi'  dinner.  A  good 
dinner  is  a  fixed  fact  wi'  me,  and  when  I've  had  a 
cup  o'  tea  I'll  feel  mair  like  Flora  McNab.  At 
the  present  hour,  I'm  fagged  and  wastered,  and  re 
quiring  a  refreshment.  That's  sure !  " 

At  first  Theodora  did  not  feel  satisfied  with  Mc- 
Nab's  gratuitous  offer  of  service,  but  Robert  quickly 
made  her  so.  "  I  am  delighted,"  he  said.  "  I  have 
known  the  woman  ever  since  I  can  remember.  She 
stood  by  my  father  in  his  long  sickness  as  faithfully 
as  she  stands  by  you.  I  can  never  be  uneasy  about 
my  wife  if  McNab  is  with  her." 

So  McNab  took  the  place  she  had  chosen,  and  the 
house  was  soon  aware  of  her  presence.  There  were 
more  economy,  better  meals,  perfect  discipline,  and 
a  refreshing  sense  of  peace  and  order.  For  she  had 
a  rare  power  of  ruling,  and  also  of  making  those 
ruled  pleased  to  be  so.  Thus,  for  two  weeks,  Theo 
dora  had  a  sense  of  pause  and  rest  that  was  strength 
ening  both  to  the  inner  and  outer  woman.  Then 
in  the  secret  silence  of  the  midnight,  her  fear  was 
turned  into  joy,  for  McNab  laid  her  first-born  son 
in  her  arms  and  Robert  knelt  at  her  side,  his  heart 


1 68  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

brimming  with  love  and  thanksgiving.  And  had  he 
fully  realized  the  blessing  given,  he  would  have 
known  it  was,  Thy  Kingdom  come,  from  the  cradle. 

Surely  this  great  event  would  make  all  things  new ! 
This  was  Theodora's  constant  thought  and  hope,  and 
for  a  while  it  seemed  to  do  so.  But  the  readiness 
with  which  we  come  to  accept  rare  and  great  bless 
ings  as  customary  is  one  of  the  most  common  and 
ungrateful  of  our  blasphemies  against  the  Father 
from  whom  all  blessings  flow.  And  very  soon  the 
beautiful  babe  became  as  usual  as  the  other  everyday 
incidents  of  life,  to  all  excepting  his  mother  and  Mc- 
Nab.  Robert,  indeed,  was  fond  and  proud  of  him, 
and  as  long  as  they  remained  in  Inverkip  the  little 
fellow  was  something  new  that  belonged  to  himself 
in  a  manner  wonderful  and  satisfying. 

But  with  the  return  of  the  family  to  Glasgow, 
the  child  lost  the  charm  of  the  Inverkip  environment. 
In  Traquair  House  he  received  even  from  his  father 
only  the  Campbell  affection,  which  had  no  enthusi 
asms,  no  baby  talk,  no  petting,  no  foolish  admira 
tions.  It  was  almost  impossible  for  the  mother  to 
accept  this  change  of  attitude  with  nonchalance,  or 
even  cheerfulness.  She  could  not  withstand  the  in 
fluence  of  the  dull,  gray  house,  and  the  toiling,  moil 
ing,  money-grabbing  city,  though  she  felt  intuitively 
that  the  influence  of  both  was  inimical  to  her  domes 
tic  happiness.  For  the  house  was  impregnated  with 
the  Campbell  personality,  so  much  so  that  the  very 
apparatus  of  their  daily  life  had  become  eloquent 
of  the  moods  of  those  they  ministered  to ;  and  Theo- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  169 

dora  often  felt  as  if  the  sofas  and  chairs  in  their 
rooms  resented  her  use  of  them. 

A  prepossession  of  this  kind  was  an  unhappy  one, 
and  easily  affiliated  itself  with  the  spirit  of  the  house, 
which  was  markedly  a  quarrelsome  spirit.  Nurtured 
and  indulged  for  more  than  two  generations,  it  had 
become  an  inflexible,  almost  an  invincible  one.  All 
Theodora's  smiling  efforts,  all  her  charms  and  en 
treaties  had  failed  to  conciliate,  or  even  appease  its 
grudging  resentment.  It  was  a  piteous  thing  that 
the  first  trouble  after  her  return  to  Glasgow,  should 
be  concerning  the  child.  Robert  had  been  pleased 
by  the  assurance  of  his  friends  in  Inverkip  that  his 
son  resembled  him  in  an  extraordinary  manner.  He 
was  himself  sure  of  this  resemblance,  though  Theo 
dora  could  only  see  "  that  difference  in  sameness  " 
often  enough  pronounced  between  fathers  and 
sons. 

Mrs.  Campbell  scouted  the  idea.  She  said: 
"  The  child  had  not  a  single  Campbell  feature  or 
trait.  He  did  not  even  suck  his  tongue,  a  trick  all 
the  Campbell  babies  had,  as  McNab  knew  right  well. 
And  she  understood  there  had  not  been  a  single 
Campbell  in  the  room  when  he  was  born — an  im 
portant  and  significant  mistake  that  never  could  be 
rectified.  She  could  only  say,  and  she  always  would 
say,  that  the  boy  was  Theodora's  child." 

"  I  hope  he  is,"  answered  Robert,  who  was  nettled 
by  the  criticism.  "  He  cannot  do  better  than  take 
after  his  mother  in  every  way." 

"  And   I   am    fairly   shocked,    Robert,"   she   con- 


170  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

tinued,  "  that  the  child — who's  ever  it  is — hasna  yet 
been  baptized.  Seven  weeks  old  and  not  baptized! 
I  never  heard  the  like.  My  children  were  cove 
nanted  Christians  before  they  were  two  weeks  old. 
It  was  my  first  thought  for  them." 

"  Well,  mother,  we  wanted  to  be  quite  sure  of  the 
name.  A  boy's  name  means  much  to  him  when  he 
becomes  a  man." 

"  There  is  but  one  name  proper  for  the  child,  that 
is  his  grandfather's." 

"Do  you  mean  Traquair?"  asked  Robert. 

"  Yes,  Traquair — a  fine  family  name." 

Theodora  looked  entreatingly  at  Robert,  and  he 
understood  her  dissent  and  shared  it. 

"  Mother,"  he  answered,  "  I  have  a  great  objec 
tion  to  Traquair." 

' '  Ob j  ection  1     Pray,  why  ?  ' ' 

"  It  was  not  a  fortunate  name  for  my  father. 
It  is  not  a  good  business  name." 

"  My  father  was  a  Traquair,  and  he  made  a  great 
deal  of  money." 

"  Your  father  was  called  Donald  Traquair.  That 
is  different.  Traquair  is  a  good  family  name,  but 
it  is  not  a  good  Christian  name." 

"  We  could  call  him  Donald,"  said  Theodora. 
"  Donald  is  a  good  name,  though  I  think  Robert 
likes  David  best  of  all." 

"  David!  "  ejaculated  Mrs.  Campbell  with  anger. 
"  I  will  have  no  David  Campbells  in  this  house ! 
I  will  not  suffer  my  grandson  to  be  called  David. 
It  was  like  you  to  propose  it." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  171 

"  I  thought  it  would  please  you.  I  am  quite  will 
ing  my  son  should  be  called  David." 

"  I  think  David  is  a  very  good  name,"  said  Rob 
ert,  but  his  opinion  was  given  with  that  over-decision 
which  cowardice  assumes  when  it  forces  itself  to 
assertion. 

"  To  have  a  David  Campbell  in  the  house  will  be 
a  great  annoyance  to  me,"  continued  Mrs.  Campbell. 
"  It  will  be  enough  to  make  me  hate  the  child." 

Then  Theodora  left  the  room.  She  felt  that  the 
argument  had  gone  as  far  as  it  was  likely  to  be 
reasonable.  In  a  short  time  Robert  followed  her 
and  his  face  wore  a  look  of  vexation  and  perplexity. 

"Have  you  decided  on  the  name  yet,  Robert?" 
she  asked. 

"  No." 

"  Why  not  call  him  after  yourself?  " 

"  Because  in  the  course  of  time  I  should  likely  be 
compelled  to  write  '  senior '  after  my  own  name.  I 
do  not  care  to  look  forward  to  that.  Mother  has 
set  her  mind  on  Traquair." 

"It  is  the  only  Scotch  name  I  object  to.  It  has 
not  one  noble  association.  If  you  say  Robert,  you 
think  of  Robert  Bruce,  and  Robert  Burns,  and  a 
score  of  other  great  men.  Call  him  Donald,  or 
Dugald,  or  Duncan,  or  Angus,  or  Hector,  or  Alex 
ander,  they  are  all  Christian  names  and  will  not 
subject  the  little  lad  when  he  goes  among  the  boys 
and  men,  to  mockery.  Traquair  will  give  them  two 
objectionable  nicknames — Tray,  which  is  a  dog's 
name,  and  Quair  will  easily  slip  into  queer.  Think 


172  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

of  it — Tray  Campbell,  or  Queer  Campbell.  It  will 
not  do,  Robert." 

"  No.  Traquair  will  not  do.  It  will  not 
do." 

"  There  is  one  good  reason  for  not  calling  the 
child  Robert,  not  the  '  senior '  reason  at  all.  I  want 
you  to  keep  and  make  famous  your  own  name.  You 
are  really  a  good  natural  orator.  I  noticed  your 
speech,  and  its  delivery  at  Dr.  Robertson's  dinner, 
when  we  were  at  Inverkip.  It  was  the  best  speech 
made.  It  was  finely  delivered.  You  are  rich  and 
going  to  be  richer;  why  not  cultivate  your  gift,  and 
run  for  Parliament?  No  one  can  put  political  views 
into  a  more  sensible  and  eloquent  speech  than  Robert 
Campbell." 

"  I  think  you  overrate  my  abilities,  Dora,"  replied 
Robert,  but  he  spoke  with  a  kind  of  musing  satis 
faction. 

"  No,  you  could  become  a  good  speaker,  and  if 
you  wish,  I  am  sure  you  may  write  M.  P.  after  your 
name.  Why  not  decide  on  David?  You  love  your 
big  brother  yet.  You  never  speak  of  him  without 
emotion.  He  will  come  back  to  you,  I  am  sure. 
And  how  proud  you  will  be  to  say:  '  I  never  forgot 
you,  David.  I  called  my  first-born  son  after 
you.'  " 

'  You  are  right,  Dora,  you  are  right.  The  boy's 
name  is  David.  I  have  said  it  and  it  shall  be  so. 
Mother  must  give  way.  She  must  remember  for 
once,  that  we  have  some  feelings  and  prejudices  as 
well  as  herself." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  173 

At  that  moment  Ducie  entered  with  the  child,  and 
Theodora  took  him  in  her  arms  and  said:  "  Ducie, 
the  baby  is  to  be  called  David."  Then  she  kissed 
the  name  on  his  lips  and  he  opened  his  blue  eyes 
and  smiled  at  her. 

The  next  Sabbath  the  child  was  solemnly  baptized 
David,  and  Robert  entered  his  name  in  the  large 
family  Bible,  which  had  been  the  first  purchase  he 
made  for  his  home  after  Theodora  had  accepted 
him. 

But  in  neither  ceremony  did  Mrs.  Traquair  Camp 
bell  take  any  part.  She  did  not  go  to  church,  and 
when  Robert  asked  her  to  come  into  his  parlor  and 
see  the  entry  of  her  grandson's  name  in  the  Book, 
she  refused.  All  of  the  household  were  present  but 
the  infant's  grandmother  and  aunts;  and  all  blessed 
the  child  as  Theodora  put  him  a  moment  into  the 
arms  of  the  women  present.  McNab  kissed  him, 
and  made  a  kind  of  apology  for  the  act,  saying  she 
"  never  could  help  kissing  a  boy  baby,  since  she  was 
a  baby  hersel',  and  even  if  it  were  a  girl  baby  a 
bit  bonnie,  she  whiles  fell  easy  into  the  same  in 
firmity." 

In  this  case  Theodora  gained  her  desire,  and  some 
will  say  she  gained  it  by  flattering  her  husband.  It 
would  be  fairer  to  say  by  admiring  her  husband.  A 
wise  wife  knows  that  in  domestic  diplomacies,  ad 
miration  is  a  puissant  weapon.  In  a  great  many 
cases  it  is  better  than  love.  Men  are  not  always 
in  the  mood  to  be  loved,  their  minds  may  be  busy 
with  things  naturally  antagonistic  to  love;  and  to 


174  ^  Reconstructed  Marriage 

show  a  warmth  that  is  not  shared  is  a  grave  mistake. 
But  all  men  are  responsive  to  admiration.  It  suc 
ceeds  where  reasoning  and  arguing  and  endearments 
fail.  For  the  person  admired  feels  that  he  is  be 
lieved  in,  and  trusted.  He  has  nothing  to  explain 
and  nothing  to  justify,  and  this  attitude  makes  the 
wheels  of  the  household  run  smoothly. 

Is  then  Theodora  to  be  blamed?  If  so,  there  are 
an  unaccountable  number  of  women,  yesterday,  to 
day,  and  forever,  in  the  same  fault.  It  would  be 
safe  to  say  there  is  not  a  happy  household  in  the 
land  where  the  wives  and  mothers  do  not  use  many 
such  small  hypocrisies.  Is  there  any  wife  reading 
this  sentence,  who  has  not  often  made  a  pleasant 
evening  for  her  whole  family,  by  a  few  admiring 
or  sympathizing  words?  For  though  a  woman  will 
go  through  hard  work  and  distracting  events  with 
out  praise  or  sympathy,  a  man  cannot.  If  admira 
tion  and  kindness  fail  him,  he  flies  to  the  black  door 
of  oblivion  by  drink,  or  drugs,  or  a  pistol  shot.  A 
man  with  a  wife  whose  sympathy  and  admiration 
can  be  relied  on,  is  never  guilty  of  that  sin.  Is  there 
a  good  wife  living  who  has  not  pretended  interest 
in  subjects  she  really  cares  nothing  about;  who  has 
not  listened  to  the  same  stories  a  hundred  times,  and 
laughed  every  time;  who  does  not  in  some  way  or 
other,  violate  her  own  likes  or  dislikes,  tastes  or 
opinions  every  day  in  the  week  in  order  to  induce 
a  household  atmosphere  which  it  will  be  pleasant  to 
live  in? 

This  is  not  the  place  to  discuss  the  ethics  of  this 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  175 

universal  custom.  Women,  with  reckless  waste  have 
always  flung  themselves  into  the  domestic  gulf. 
They  choose  to  throw  away  their  own  happiness  in 
order  to  make  others  happy,  forgetting  too  often 
that  they  who  injure  themselves  shall  not  be  counted 
innocent. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    NEW    CHRISTINA 

HOME  is  not  ruined  in  a  day,  and  it  is  wonderful 
what  rack  and  strain  and  tugging  the  marriage  tie 
will  bear  ere  it  snaps  asunder.  For  three  years  and 
a  half  after  the  birth  of  the  child,  Theodora  was 
subjected  to  an  unwearying  hostility,  always  finding 
fresh  reasons  for  complaint  and  injustice.  And  it 
was  a  cruel  symptom  of  this  intentional  malice,  that 
it  took  as  its  usual  vehicle,  little  David.  He  could 
do  nothing  right.  Baby  as  he  was,  his  grandmother 
found  him  to  be  a  child  of  many  sinful  proclivities. 
She  was  never  weary  of  pointing  out  his  faults.  "  He 
looked  so  vulgarly  English,  he  had  no  Scotch  burr 
in  his  speech;  he  walked  wrong,  he  made  her  peace 
ful  home  a  Bedlam  of  crying  and  shouting.  He 
was  naturally  rude,  he  would  scarcely  answer  his 
aunts  if  they  spoke  to  him;  and  if  she  herself  but 
came  near  him,  he  ran  away  and  hid  himself  in  his 
mother's  arms.  He  was  also  shockingly  fond  of 
low  company.  He  could  not  be  coaxed  into  her 
room,  but  was  never  out  of  the  kitchen;  and  one 
day  she  had  found  him  sitting  on  the  pastry  table, 
watching  McNab  make  the  tarts."  At  this  charge 
Robert  smiled  and  asked: 

"  Why    does    not   Ducie    keep    him    out    of   the 
kitchen?     She  ought  to  do  so." 

176 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  177 

"  She  likes  to  be  there  herself.  I  think  it  would 
be  well  to  send  her  back  to  Kendal  at  once.  There 
is  no  necessity  for  a  nurse  now,  and  the  boy  ought 
to  be  learning  how  to  care  for  himself — you  did  so 
before  you  were  his  age.  And  really,  Robert,  keep 
ing  a  maid  for  Dora  is  a  most  unnecessary  expense; 
it  also  makes  a  great  deal  of  trouble  among  the 
house-servants.  The  girl  is  always  quarrelling  with 
them  about  her  mistress,  and  pitying  them  about  their 
mistress.  I  fancy  Dora  makes  an  equal  of  her." 

"  That  is  not  Dora's  way,  mother.  And  the  girl 
is  not  only  a  nurse,  she  attends  to  our  rooms  also." 

"  The  house  chambermaid  could  do  that." 

"  Could  she  do  it  the  first  thing  in  the  morning?  " 

"  Do  you  think  Dora's  rooms  ought  to  be  attended 
to  before  mine?  " 

"  Dora  likes  them  to  be  put  in  order  early,  and 
I  am  willing  to  pay  for  her  wish." 

"  More  fool  you !  I  dare  be  bound,  she  cleaned 
her  own  room  before  you  married  her." 

"  If  she  had  married  Lord  Thurson,  instead  of 
me,  he  would  have  given  her  a  dozen  maids  had  she 
wished  them." 

"  Do  you  think  I  believe  that  romancing  about 
Lord  Thurson?  I  am  not  such  a  born  idiot.  You 
cannot  persuade  me,  that  two  men  in  the  world 
wanted  to  marry  Dora  Newton.  Hout,  tout!  Men 
are  feckless  enough,  but  not  that  crazy." 

Such  conversations  as  this  occurred  usually  in  the 
library  after  dinner  where  Mrs.  Campbell  now  made 
a  point  of  visiting  her  son.  For  this  end,  she  had 


178  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

conquered  her  dislike  both  of  the  room  and  his  to 
bacco,  and  there  she  carried  all  the  small  gossip 
and  worries  of  the  household.  And  Robert  soon 
began  to  enjoy  this  visit,  and  the  tale-bearing  suspi 
cions  and  arguments  that  enlivened  it.  It  pleased 
him  to  feel  that  he  knew  all  that  was  going  on  in 
the  house,  and  he  also  liked  to  know  whether  Theo 
dora  had  been  out  or  not,  whether  she  had  dressed 
for  calling  or  walking,  and,  if  she  had  not  left  the 
house,  how  she  had  been  occupied,  what  callers  she 
had  had,  and  how  many  letters  she  had  received. 
He  was  not  even  averse  to  knowing  the  post-office 
stamps  of  these  letters. 

And  when  men  indulge  this  petty  weakness,  they 
soon  learn  to  enjoy  its  humbling  cruelties  and  its 
mean  triumphs,  hardly  considering  that  under  such 
a  disintegrating  process  all  domestic  happiness 
crumbles  inwardly  away.  Thus  Robert  grew  in 
different  to  the  woman  he  so  pitilessly  analyzed,  and 
fell  gradually  into  the  godless,  thankless  quiescence 
of  getting  used  to  happiness.  It  was  then  easy  to 
regard  what  had  once  been  a  miraculous  blessing  as 
a  thing  monotonous  and  commonplace. 

With  Theodora,  he  had  now  little  companionship. 
He  had  ceased  to  consult  her  about  anything,  they 
neither  wept  nor  rejoiced  together,  they  did  not  even 
quarrel,  and  no  legal  bill  of  divorce  could  have  more 
effectually  separated  them  than  did  this  moral  di 
vorce,  in  which  there  was  neither  disputing  nor  for 
giveness.  But  though  Theodora  consented  to  this 
evil  condition  outwardly,  as  a  form  of  sacrifice  for 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  179 

David's  sake,  inwardly  she  knew  it  to  be  overcome. 
She  bore  it  cheerfully,  despised  its  power,  and 
ignored  as  much  as  possible  its  presence. 

Had  she  been  left  to  herself  she  must  have  broken 
down  under  the  unceasing  tension,  but  constantly 
visited  by  the  not  herself,  she  lifted  up  her  head,  and 
when  urged  too  fiercely,  walked  her  lonely  room  with 
God,  and  dared  to  tell  Him  all  the  sorrow  in  her 
heart.  Her  disappointment  had  been  dreadful,  but 
God's  pity  had  touched  the  great  mistake,  and  she 
was  now  waiting  as  patiently  and  cheerfully  as  pos 
sible  for  the  finality  sure  to  come. 

So  far  she  had  hid  her  wrongs  and  her  disillusions 
in  her  heart;  not  even  to  her  parents  had  she  com 
plained.  The  heart-breaking  cruelties  from  which 
she  suffered  were  not  recognized  by  the  law,  and  they 
were  screened  from  the  world  by  the  closed  doors 
of  domestic  life.  So  she  had  bowed  both  her  heart 
and  her  head,  and  was  dumb  to  every  one  but  her 
Maker.  He  alone  knew  her  in  those  days  of  utter 
desolation,  when  her  wronged  and  wounded  soul  re 
tired  from  all  earthly  affections  to  that  Eternal  Love 
always  waiting  our  hour  of  need. 

At  this  time  it  was  the  once  snubbed  and  depressed 
Christina  who  dominated  Traquair  House.  From 
her  first  interview  with  Theodora,  she  had  resolved 
to  become  like  her.  With  patient  zeal  she  had 
studied  and  acquired  whatever  Theodora  had  recom 
mended.  And  quickly  divining  the  bent  of  her  in 
tellectual  faculties,  Theodora  had  educated  that  bent 
to  perfection.  The  correct  technique  of  the  piano 


180  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

was  already  known  to  Christina,  but  Theodora  di 
rected  it  into  its  proper  channel  of  expression,  and 
showed  her  how  to  put  a  soul  into  her  playing  and 
singing.  She  found  for  her  the  most  delicate  and 
humorous  portions  of  literature,  and  taught  her  how 
to  recite  them.  She  made  her  free  of  all  the  secrets 
of  beautiful  dressing,  and  urged  her  to  do  justice 
to  her  person;  until  very  gradually  the  commonplace 
Christina  had  flowered  into  an  attractive  woman. 

In  the  third  year  of  Theodora's  married  life  Chris 
tina  had  begun  to  dress  herself  with  a  rich  and  al 
most  fastidious  elegance,  and,  as  frequently  happens, 
she  put  on  with  her  fine  clothing  a  certain  amount 
of  genius  and  authority.  No  one  snubbed  her  now, 
for  she  had  made  a  distinct  place  for  herself  in  the 
special  set  the  Traquair  Campbells  affected — the  rich 
religious  set — and  her  definite  and  agreeable  accom 
plishments  caused  her  to  be  eagerly  sought  for  every 
entertainment  in  that  set.  She  had  begun  to  have 
admirers,  flowers  were  sent  to  her  and  gentlemen 
called  upon  her,  and  she  received  invitations  from 
them  to  concerts,  lectures,  and  such  national  and 
therefore  correct  plays,  as  Rob  Roy  and  Macbeth. 
This  social  admiration  developed  her  self-apprecia 
tion  and  self-reliance  to  a  wonderful  extent.  She 
was  no  longer  afraid  of  any  member  of  her  family, 
and  they  were  secretly  very  proud  of  her. 

Mrs.  Campbell  talked  of  her  daughter's  social 
triumphs  constantly.  "  Your  sister  is  the  belle  of 
every  occasion,  Robert,"  she  said  to  her  son.  "  She 
has  as  many  as  five  and  six  callers  every  day;  she 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  181 

has  been  named  in  the  papers  as  '  the  lovely  and 
accomplished  Miss  Christina  Campbell ' ;  she  has 
numerous  lovers  to  tak'  her  choice  o',  and  tell  me, 
my  lad,  whaur's  your  Theodora  now !  "  She  tossed 
her  head  triumphantly  to  the  scornful  laugh  with 
which  she  asked  the  question. 

"  Mother,  you  know  that  Dora  has  made  Chris 
tina  all  she  is.  Be  honest,  and  confess  that." 

"  'Deed  I  will  not.  The  beauty  and  the  talents 
were  a'  in  the  lassie.  Dora  may  have  said  a  word 
now  and  then,  and  showed  her  a  thing  or  two,  here 
and  there,  but  the  gifts  were  Christina's,  and  the 
lassie's  ain  patient  wark  has  brought  them  to  their 
perfection.  That's  a  crowned  truth  and  I'll  suffer 
no  contradiction  to  it.  We  shall  have  to  order  her 
wedding  feast  vera  soon.  I  have  not  a  doubt  o' 
that."  ^ 

"  I  hope  she  will  have  the  sense  not  to  overlook 
the  baronet  in  her  train  of  admirers." 

"  You're  meaning  Sir  Thomas  Wynton?  " 

"  Yes.  He  is  quite  in  the  mind  to  buy  a  hand 
some  share  in  the  works,  and  his  name  and  money 
would  be  a  great  thing  for  us.  I  intend  to  bring 
him  here  to  dinner  to-morrow.  Tell  Christina  I 
am  looking  to  her  to  bring  him  into  the  family,  and 
into  the  works." 

"  I'll  be  no  such  fool,  Robert  Campbell.  I  shall 
say  nothing  anent  Sir  Thomas,  save  the  particular 
fact  of  his  coming  here  to  dinner.  Little  you  know 
o'  women,  if  you  think  any  lassie  can  be  counselled 
to  marry  the  man  she  ought  to  marry." 


182  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Take  your  own  way  with  her,  mother,  but  mind 
this — the  securing  of  Sir  Thomas  Wynton  will  be 
a  special  providence  for  the  Campbells.  He  has 
one  hundred  thousand  pounds  to  invest,  and  I  can 
not  bear  to  think  of  him  carrying  all  that  capital 
anywhere  but  to  the  Campbell  furnaces." 

"  I'll  manage  it.  Never  fear,  Robert,  Christina 
shall  be  my  lady  Christina  and  you  shall  have  the 
Wynton  siller  to  trade  with.  It  will  be  a  righteous 
undertaking  for  me,  for  it  is  fairly  sinful  in  Sir 
Thomas,  hiding  his  hundred  thousand  talents — as  it 
were — in  a  napkin.  A  bank  is  no  better  than  a 
napkin;  money  is  just  folded  away  in  it;  and  money 
is  made  round  that  it  may  roll.  The  Campbell 
works  will  set  the  hundred  thousand  pieces  rolling 
and  gathering  more,  and  more,  and  still  more. 
Losh!  it  makes  me  tremble  to  think  of  them  going 
out  o'  the  Campbell  road.  That  would  be  an  un 
thinkable  calamity." 

"  If  you  can  manage  it,  mother,  it " 

"  '  If  ' — there's  no  '  if  '  in  the  matter."  She  smiled 
and  nodded,  and  seemed  so  sure  of  success,  that  Rob 
ert  found  it  difficult  to  refrain  himself  from  making 
certain  calculations,  dependent  upon  a  larger  capital. 

The  next  day  at  noon  Mrs.  Campbell  remarked 
in  a  tone  of  inconvenience,  or  household  discomfort : 
"  I  believe,  girls,  your  brother  is  going  to  bring  Sir 
Thomas  Wynton  home  with  him  to-night.  I  am 
fairly  wearied  of  the  man's  name." 

"  He  is  a  very  fine  gentleman,  mother,"  said  Chris 
tina. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  183 

"  He  is  auld,  and  auld-farrant." 

"  He  is  not  over  forty-five,  and  he  is  far  from 
being  old-fashioned.  He  is  up  to  the  nick  of  the 
times  in  everything." 

'  Your  brother  never  thinks  of  any  manly  quality 
but  money.  He  says  Sir  Thomas  is  rich.  I  wouldn't 
wonder  if  he  has  only  the  name  o'  riches.  But, 
rich  or  poor,  he  is  coming  to  dinner,  and  I  be  to 
see  McNab  anent  the  eatables.  A  very  moderate 
dinner  will  do,  I  should  say." 

"  Make  the  finest  dinner  you  can,  mother,  and  it 
will  be  only  a  pot-luck  affair  to  Sir  Thomas,"  an 
swered  Christina.  "  He  is  rich,  and  he  is  powerful 
in  politics,  and  he  has  one  of  the  finest  castles  in 
Midlothian.  He  is  well  worth  a  good  dinner, 
mother,  and  Robert  will  like  to  see  he  has  one." 

"  What  do  you  say,  Isabel?  " 

"  I  say  Robert  is  worth  pleasing,  mother.  The 
other  man  is  a  problem,  perhaps  it  may  be  worth 
while  to  please  him,  perhaps  not.  The  negatives 
generally  win,  I've  noticed  that." 

"  Well,  well!  The  dinner  is  all  we  can  cater  for 
— there's  accidentals  anent  every  affair,  and  they  are 
beyont  us,  as  a  rule.  Are  either  of  you  going  out 
this  afternoon?  " 

"  There  is  nothing  to  take  me  out,"  said  Isabel. 

"  I  was  out  late  last  night,"  said  Christina.  "  I 
shall  rest  this  afternoon.  Sir  Thomas  is  rather  a 
weariness.  We  shall  all  be  thankful  when  he  makes 
his  court  bow  and  says,  '  Good-night,  ladies !  I  have 
had  a  perfectly  delightsome  evening.'  "  She  boldly 


184  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

mimicked  the  baronet's  broad  Scotch  speech  and 
courtly  debonair  manner,  without  any  fear  of  the  cold 
silence,  or  cutting  reproofs  her  mimicry  used  to  pro 
voke. 

No  more  was  said,  and  the  girls  did  not  take  Sir 
Thomas  Wynton  into  their  conversation.  He  ap 
peared  to  be  a  person  of  no  importance  to  them. 
As  they  were  parting  Isabel  asked:  "  What  will  you 
wear  to-night,  Christina?"  and  Christina  answered: 
"  I  have  not  thought  of  my  dress  yet — what  will  you 
wear?  " 

"  My  gray  silk,  trimmed  with  black  lace." 
"  Put  on  white  laces;  they  are  more  becoming." 
"  The  dress  is  ready  for  the  Social  Club  at  the 
church,  Friday.     Why  should  I  alter  it  for  a  couple 
of  hours  to-night?      I  wish  you  would  wear  your 
rose  satin.      You  look  so  bonnie  in  it." 

"  I'll  not  don  it  for  Sir  Thomas  Wynton  I  I 
wish  to  wear  it  at  Mrs.  Bannerman's  dinner  Thurs 
day,  and  Wynton  is  sure  to  be  there.  I  don't  want 
him  to  think  I  wore  my  best  dress  for  him  only.  It 
would  set  him  up  too  high." 

But  if  she  did  not  wish  to  wear  her  rose  satin 
for  Sir  Thomas,  she  appeared  in  a  far  more  effective 
costume — a  black  Maltese  lace  gown,  trimmed  with 
bright  rose-colored  bows  of  satin  ribbon.  Her 
really  fine  arms  were  bare  from  the  elbows,  her 
square-cut  neck  showed  a  beautifully  white,  firm 
throat,  and  the  glow  of  the  ribbons  was  over  her 
neck  and  arms,  and  touched  the  dress  here  and  there 
charmingly.  A  bright  red  rose  showed  among  the 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  185 

manifold  braids  of  her  black  hair,  and  she  had  in 
her  hand  a  rose-colored  fan,  with  which  she  coquetted 
very  prettily. 

Robert  was  charmed  with  her  appearance,  and 
told  her  so.  "  I  want  you  to  charm  Sir  Thomas 
Wynton  for  me,"  he  added.  "  It  is  desirable  that 
I  should  have  him  for  a  business  partner.  Do  you 
understand?  " 

She  laughed,  and  putting  her  fan  before  her  face 
asked  in  a  whisper:  "What  will  you  give  me,  Rob 
ert,  if  I  win  him  for  you?  " 

"  Five  hundred  pounds,"  he  said  promptly. 

"  Done !  "  she  replied,  and  then,  hearing  the  door 
open,  she  turned  to  see  Sir  Thomas  Wynton  enter 
ing.  She  went  to  meet  him  with  a  laughing  wel 
come  and  with  both  hands  extended.  She  sat  at 
his  side  during  dinner  and  kept  him  laughing,  and 
when  she  left  the  dining-room  ordered  him  with 
a  pretty  authority  to  be  in  the  drawing-room 
for  tea,  in  forty-five  minutes.  And  he  took 
out  his  watch,  noted  the  time,  and  promised 
all  she  asked. 

In  forty-five  minutes  exactly,  he  appeared  in  the 
drawing-room.  Jepson  was  serving  tea,  and  Chris 
tina's  cup  stood  on  the  piano,  for  as  Robert  and  Sir 
Thomas  entered  the  room  she  was  playing  with 
lively,  racy  spirit,  the  prelude  to  the  inimitably 
humorous  song  of  "  The  Laird  o'  Cockpen."  Sir 
Thomas  went  at  once  to  her  side,  and  when  he  spoke 
to  her,  she  answered  him  with  the  musical,  mocking 
words : 


1 86  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  The  laird  of  Cockpen  he's  proud,  and  he's  great, 
His  mind  is  taen  up  wi'  the  things  o'  the  State,"  etc. 

Sir  Thomas  listened  with  peals  of  laughter,  and  Rob 
ert  and  Mrs.  Campbell  joined  in  the  merriment. 
Even  Isabel  was  unable  to  preserve  the  usual  still 
ness  of  her  face,  though  she  was  far  more  interested 
in  the  singer  than  the  song.  Where  had  all  these 
charming  coquetries,  this  mirth  and  melody  been  hid 
den  in  the  old  Christina?  This  was  not  the  Chris 
tina  she  had  known  all  her  life.  "  It  is  Theodora's 
doing,"  she  thought,  "  and  not  one  of  us  have  given 
her  one  word  of  thanks.  It  is  too  bad!  And  I 
am  sure  she  stayed  in  her  own  room  to-night,  to  give 
Christina  a  fair  field,  and  no  rival.  She  is  a  good 
woman.  I  wish  mother  could  like  her." 

The  whole  evening  was  a  triumph  for  Christina. 
She  sang  "  Sir  John  Cope  "  with  irresistible  raillery, 
and  roused  every  Scotch  feeling  in  her  audience  with 
"  Bannocks  o'  Barley  Meal,"  and  "  The  Kail  Brose 
of  Auld  Scotland"  She  told  her  most  amusing 
stories,  and  finally  induced  Sir  Thomas  Wynton  and 
her  brother,  mother,  and  sister  to  join  her  in  the 
parting  song  of  " Auld  Lang  Syne"  Then,  with 
evident  reluctance,  Sir  Thomas  went  away,  "  thor 
oughly  bewitched  in  a'  his  five  senses,"  as  he  con 
fessed  later.  Christina  knew  it,  for  ere  she  bid  her 
brother  good-night,  she  found  an  opportunity  to 
whisper : 

"  You   will   owe   me   five   hundred  pounds   very 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  187 

"  I  will  pay  it,"  he  answered,  and  she  looked  back 
ward  at  him  with  a  laugh.  Then  he  turned  to  his 
mother  and  said:  "Who  would  have  believed  that 
Christina  had  all  this  fun  and  mischief  in  her?  " 

"  Ah,  well,  Robert,"  answered  Mrs.  Campbell, 
"  Scotch  girls  don't  put  all  their  goods  in  the  window. 
They  hold  a  deal  in  reserve  and  there's  none  but 
the  one  man  can  ever  bring  it  out  o'  them.  I'm  think 
ing  Sir  Thomas  is  the  one  man,  in  Christina's  mind." 

"  I  hope  so." 

"  I  have  not  such  a  thing  as  a  doubt  left." 

"  Do  you  tell  me  that,  mother?  " 

'  Yes,  I  took  good  notice,  and  she  seemed  to  be 
on  a  very  easy  footing  with  him.  I'll  give  him  a 
week  to  think  things  o'er,  but  the  marriage  o'  Chris 
tina  Campbell  and  Sir  Thomas  Wynton  is  certain." 

"  We  will  not  go  quite  that  far  yet,  mother,  but 
I  think  this  evening's  events  warrant  that  presump 
tion." 

While  this  conversation  was  in  progress,  Chris 
tina  was  going  upstairs,  and  her  quick,  strong  steps 
were  in  singular  contrast  to  the  slow,  inert  move 
ments  of  the  Christina  of  a  few  years  previous.  At 
Theodora's  bedroom  door  she  paused  irresolutely 
for  a  few  moments,  but  finally  tapped  at  it.  Theo 
dora  herself  answered  the  summons.  She  was  in 
a  long,  white  gown,  and  her  face  was  white  as  the 
linen. 

"  Are  you  ill,  Dora?  "  Christina  asked. 

"  No,  I  am  sleepy.  Have  you  had  a  pleasant 
evening?  " 


1 88  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Yes.  All  went  to  my  wish.  Every  honor  was 
in  my  hand,  but  if  you  had  been  present  honors  would 
have  been  easy,  if  not  entirely  in  your  hand.  It 
was  kind  of  you  to  give  me  this  free  opportunity, 
and  I  feel  sure  I  have  won  the  game.  Good-night." 

"  Good-night.  You  are  looking  unusually  hand 
some." 

"  This  dress  is  becoming.  Good-night,"  and  she 
went  gaily  away,  timing  her  steps  to  the  music  of 
the  last  line  of  her  conquering  song: 

"  And  the  late  Mistress  Jean,  is  my  Lady  Cockpen," 

laughing  softly  to  herself  as  she  closed  her  door. 
For  she  knew  that  she  had  won  Sir  Thomas  Wyn- 
ton,  and  her  sharp  little  bit  of  a  soul  had  already 
caught  a  keen  sight  of  the  further  triumphs  awaiting 
her.  She  would  travel,  she  would  be  presented  at 
many  courts,  she  would  entertain  splendidly  at  Wyn- 
ton  Castle,  she  would  be  kind  to  Theodora,  and 
patronize  and  protect  her  and  she  would  make  the 
hearts  of  the  Campbelton  set  sick  with  envy.  So 
she  went  to  sleep  planning  a  future  for  herself,  of 
the  most  stupendous  self-pleasing. 

But  within  one  week  her  most  unlikely  plans  had 
assumed  an  air  of  certainty.  Sir  Thomas  Wynton 
had  formally  asked  Mrs.  Campbell  for  her  daugh 
ter's  hand,  and  Miss  Christina  Campbell  been  rec 
ognized  as  the  future  Lady  Wynton.  Then  her 
world  was  at  her  feet,  every  one  did  her  homage, 
and  brought  her  presents,  and  praised  her  for  having 
done  so  well  to  herself.  And  she  took  the  place 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  189 

in  the  household  accorded  her  without  dissent  and 
without  apologies,  and  ordered  her  outgoings  and  in 
comings  as  she  desired. 

At  first  the  middle  of  June  had  been  named  for 
the  marriage,  but  before  long  the  date  was  for 
warded  to  the  eighteenth  of  April,  for  Sir  Thomas 
was  an  ardent  lover  and  would  hear  of  no  delaying. 
Then  the  house  was  in  a  kind  of  joyful  hurry  from 
morning  to  night,  and  Christina  spent  her  days  be 
tween  the  shops  and  her  dressmaker,  and  not  even 
Sir  Thomas  could  get  a  glimpse  of  her  until  the  day's 
pleasant  labor  was  over.  At  first  Mrs.  Campbell 
went  -with  her  daughter  on  these  shopping  expedi 
tions,  and  sometimes  Isabel  accompanied  them,  but 
soon  the  various  demands  of  the  coming  event  gave 
the  elder  ladies  abundant  cares,  and  Christina  was 
permitted  to  manage  her  shopping  and  fitting  as  she 
thought  best.  So  then  she  gained  daily  in  self-asser 
tion,  and  soon  submitted  to  no  dictation  even  from 
her  brother.  But  Sir  Thomas  was  a  lover  sure  to 
make  any  woman  authoritative,  for  he  submitted 
gladly  to  all  his  mistress's  whims,  obeyed  all  her 
orders,  and  grew  every  hour  more  and  more  in 
fatuated  with  his  charming  Christina.  The  most 
expensive  flowers  and  fruits  were  sent  to  her  daily, 
the  Wynton  jewels  were  being  reset  for  her  use, 
and  Wynton  Castle  elaborately  decorated  and  fur 
nished  for  its  new  mistress.  Christina,  indeed,  was 
now  drinking  a  full  cup  of  long-delayed  happiness, 
and  late  as  it  was,  finding  the  dew  of  her  long-lost 
youth. 


190  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

Mrs.  Campbell  shared  her  daughter's  triumphant 
satisfaction.  To  all  her  kinfolk,  married  and  un 
married,  male  and  female,  she  wrote  little  notes 
brimming  with  pride  and  false  humility,  and  ex 
patiating  on  Sir  Thomas  Wynton's  rank,  wealth  and 
power,  his  handsome  person,  and  his  deep  devotion 
to  her  daughter;  piously  trusting  that  "  her  dear 
child  might  not  be  lured  from  the  narrow  path  of 
godliness,  in  which  she  had  been  so  carefully 
trained." 

So  in  these  days  Christina  was  busy  and  happy, 
and  mistress  of  all  she  desired.  Yet  as  the  wed 
ding-day  approached,  she  became  nervous  and  ir 
ritable;  she  said  she  was  weary  to  death,  and  wanted 
to  sleep  for  a  month.  No  one  cared  to  cross  her 
in  the  smallest  matter,  though  her  family  devotion 
never  deserted  her.  This  feeling  was  strongly  ex 
emplified  about  two  weeks  before  the  wedding-day, 
in  a  few  words  said  to  her  brother  one  evening  when 
they  were  alone  in  the  dining-room. 

"  Robert,"  she  asked,  "  how  near  are  you  to  the 
hundred  thousand  you  expected?  You  have  paid 
me  the  five  hundred  pounds  promised.  I  should 
like  to  know  if  I  have  earned  it.  How  near  are 
you  to  your  desire?" 

"  Near  enough." 

"  Has  he  signed  the  papers  yet?  " 

11  No." 

"Why?" 

"  I  have  not  pressed  the  matter." 

"  You     are     foolish.     It     will     be     easier     to 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  191 

get  his  signature  before  we  are  married,  than 
after." 

"  You  suspicious  woman !  Men  keep  their  word 
about  money  matters,  Christina.  Don't  you  know 
that?" 

"  No." 

"  Well,  of  course  you  don't.  You  know  nothing 
about  men." 

"You  are  satisfied,  are  you?" 

"  I  am  perfectly  satisfied." 

"And  sure?" 

"  And  positively  sure." 

A  week  later  she  asked  again,  though  in  a  jok 
ing  manner,  "if  he  had  secured  that  signature?" 
and  Robert  answered  in  a  tone  of  annoyance  : 

"  Do  not  trouble  yourself  anent  my  money  mat 
ters,  Christina." 

Then  she  laughed  and  said:  "When  I  am  Lady 
Wynton,  I  may  find  many  other  ways  for  the 
spending  of  that  hundred  thousand  of  lying 
siller." 

"  I  can  trust  you,"  replied  Robert.  "  When  you 
are  Lady  Wynton,  you  will  not  cease  to  be  Christina 
Campbell,  and  Campbells  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder 
all  the  world  over." 

At  these  words  she  gave  him  her  hand,  and  he 
clasped  it  tightly  between  his  own.  No  further 
words  were  necessary.  Robert  knew  assuredly  that 
his  sister's  influence  would  always  be  in  his  favor, 
never  against  him. 

As  she  left  her  brother,  Mrs.  Campbell  called  her, 


192  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

and  with  a  slight  reluctance  she  went  into  the 
familiar  room. 

"What  is  it  you  want  with  me,  mother?"  she 
asked,  quickly  adding,  "  I  am  very  busy  to-day." 

"  I  want  to  tell  you,  Christina,  that  I  have  had 
the  small  room  behind  this  room  prepared  for  your 
trunks.  They  ought  to  have  been  here  yesterday. 
Are  your  dresses  not  finished?  It  is  high  time  they 
were." 

"  Some  are  finished,  others  are  not." 

"  Those  that  are  finished  had  better  be  sent  here 
at  once." 

There  was  a  moment's  pause,  and  then  Christina 
said  decidedly:  "  None  of  my  bride  things  are  com 
ing  here,  mother.  When  they  are  all  in  perfect 
order  they  will  be  sent  to  my  future  home." 

"To  Wynton  Castle?" 

"  Of  course.     They  will  be  quite  safe  there." 

"  Safe!  What  do  you  mean,  miss?  And  pray, 
why  are  your  bride  clothes  sent  to  Wynton  Castle, 
instead  of  to  Traquair  House?  I  insist  on  knowing 
that." 

"  Because  Traquair  House  is  notoriously  unlucky 
to  bride  clothes.  Poor  Theodora's  pretty  things 
were  all  ruined  by  those  dreadful  Campbelton  peo 
ple.  You  said  your  bride  things  were  treated  in 
the  same  way.  Very  well,  I  am  determined  that 
none  of  my  trunks  shall  be  broken  open  and  rifled, 
and  so  I  am  sending  them  to  where  they  will  be 
guarded  and  respected." 

"  You  are  acting  in  a  shameful,  and  most  unusual 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  193 

manner,  and  I  command  you  to  send  your  trunks 
here.  I  will  be  responsible  for  their  safety." 

"  Thank  you,  mother,  but  I  have  already  made 
excellent  arrangements  for  their  security." 

"  I  consider  your  behavior  abominable.  It  is  an 
outrage  on  your  mother's  love  and  honor." 

"  Theodora  trusted  you,  and  you  allowed  a  lot  of 
vulgar,  unscrupulous  women  to  ransack  her  trunks, 
wear  her  new  dresses  dirty,  and  spoil  all  they 
touched,  and  carry  away  with  them  neckwear  and 
jewelry  they  had  no  right  to  touch.  I  will  not 
give  them  so  much  opportunity  to  injure  me.  You 
ought  not  to  wish  me  to  do  so." 

"  Christina  Campbell,  your  behavior  is  beyond  all 
excuse,  it  is  almost  beyond  all  forgiveness.  Isabel, 
tell  your  sister  her  duty." 

Then  Isabel  said  in  a  slow,  positive  voice:  "I 
think  Christina  is  right.  You  know,  mother,  the 
Campbelton  people  will  come  to  the  marriage,  and 
after  Christina  has  gone,  who  will  be  able  to  restrain 
them?  Not  you.  It  is  quite  certain  that  they 
ruined  poor  Dora's  home-coming,  and  made  her 
begin  her  life  here,  at  sixes  and  sevens." 

"  Poor  Dora!      What  do  you  mean?" 

"  I  mean,  mother,  that  the  opening  of  her  trunks, 
and  the  use  of  her  clothing  was  a  shameful  thing. 
I  have  often  said  so,  and  I  will  always  say  so." 

"  Do  not  dare  to  say  it  to  me  again.  I  will  not 
listen  to  such  nonsense,  and  as  for  you,  Christina 
Campbell,  you  are  an  ungrateful  child,  and  you  are 
cocking  your  head  too  high,  and  somewhat  too  early. 


194  d.  Reconstructed  Marriage 

Wait  until  you  are  Lady  Wynton,  before  you  put 
on  ladyship  airs." 

"  Look  you,  mother,  once  and  for  all  time,  my 
trunks  are  not  coming  near  Traquair  House.  I 
am  as  good  as  married,  and  I  will  not  be  ordered 
about  like  a  child;  it  is  out  of  the  question." 

"  Dod!  but  you  are  full  of  bouncing,  swaggering 
words.  And  what  good  girl  ever  sent  her  bridal 
clothes  away,  without  letting  her  mother  see  them? 
What  in  heaven  and  earth  will  you  do  next?  " 

"  I  shall  be  delighted,  if  you  will  come  with  me 
to  Madame  Bernard's  rooms  this  morning.  I  have 
asked  you  frequently  to  do  so.  You  always  re 
fuse." 

"  I  intended  to  examine  them  here,  at  my  leisure." 

"  And  as  to  what  I  shall  do  next,  you  will  see 
that  very  shortly.  I  am  very  sorry,  mother,  to 
disappoint  you,  but  after  I  am  married  you  can  see 
me  wearing  the  dresses,  and " 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  see  them  at  all  now." 

"  Very  well." 

"  All  your  life,  until  lately,  you  have  been  a  good 
obedient  daughter;  the  change  in  you  is  the  work 
of  that  wicked,  wicked  woman  Dora  Newton." 

"  All  my  life  until  lately,  I  was  kept  in  a  state 
of  nothingness — but  I  am  no  longer  a  nonentity.  I 
have  come  into  a  human  existence,  and  you  are  right, 
it  is  Dora  Campbell's  doing,  and  I  wish  I  knew  how 
to  thank  her." 

"  It  would  be  thanking  the  devil,  for  teaching  you 
to  sin." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  195 

"  Mother,  you  are  spoiling  my  day,  and  I  have 
a  great  deal  to  do.  Good-morning,  or  will  you 
come  with  me?  " 

"  I  will  not  come  one  footstep  with  you.  How 
can  you  expect  it?  " 

At  these  words  Christina  left  the  room,  and  Mrs. 
Campbell  began  a  complaint  illustrated  by  sobs,  and 
sighs,  and  intermittent  tears.  She  told  Isabel  that 
all  the  pleasure  she  expected  from  her  child's  mar 
riage  had  been  taken  from  her.  She  confessed  that 
she  had  spoken  a  little  to  many  people  of  the  rich 
and  beautiful  presents  Christina  had  received,  and 
now  she  would  not  be  able  to  show  one  of  them; 
and  no  one  would  believe  what  she  had  said — and 
she  could  not  blame  people  if  they  did  not.  "  Oh, 
Isabel!  "  she  cried,  "  for  my  sake,  and  for  all  our 
sakes,  Christina  must  send  her  trunks  here  for  a 
week  or  two.  Do  try  and  persuade  her.  She  al 
ways  listens  to  you." 

"  It  is  quite  useless,  mother;  she  has  made  up  her 
mind  to  send  them  to  her  new  home.  I  rather 
think  some  have  gone  there  already,  for  two  weeks 
ago  there  were  eight  trunks  at  madame's,  and  last 
week  I  only  saw  three." 

"Why  did  you  not  tell  me?  Oh,  why  did  you 
not  give  me  a  chance  to  persuade  the  cruel,  selfish 
girl?  So  wrong!  So  wicked!  So  ungrateful! 
You  know,  Isabel,  I  gave  her  five  hundred  pounds 
to  buy  that  very  clothing — I  had  a  right  to  see  it — 
yes,  I  had — I  had — and  it  is  shameful !  " 

"  Mother,  you  could  have  gone  with  Christina  to 


196  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

her  dressmaker's.  You  could  not  expect  her  to  bring 
all  her  things  here,  they  would  certainly  have  been 
shown  and  handled — they  might  have  been  ill-used 
as  Dora's  pretty  clothes  were.  Oh,  mother,  I  do 
not  blame  Christina  at  all!  I  think  she  acted  for 
the  best." 

"  So  you  also  are  joining  the  enemy — getting  New- 
tonized  like  Christina.  Do  you  also  hope  to  be 
come  a  beauty,  and  a  belle,  and  marry  a  baronet?  " 

"  Mother,  you  are  throwing  sarcasm  away.  I 
have  no  hopes  left  for  myself.  It  is  too  late  for 
me  to  develop  in  any  direction." 

"Whose  fault  is  that?" 

"  Destiny's  fault,  I  suppose.  I  was  nursing  the 
sick,  when  I  ought  to  have  been  in  school  and  in 
society." 

Mrs.  Campbell  did  not  answer  this  reproach. 
Destiny  was  a  good  enough  apology.  No  one  could 
thwart  Destiny.  She  at  least  was  not  to  blame 
for  the  wrongs  of  Destiny.  She  sat  dourly  still 
and  silent,  the  very  image  of  resentful  disappoint 
ment.  The  silence  was  indeed  so  profound,  that 
one  could  hear  the  passage  of  Isabel's  needle  through 
the  silk  she  was  sewing,  and  for  ten  minutes  both 
women  maintained  the  attitude  they  had  taken. 

Then  Isabel — holding  her  needle  poised  ready  for 
the  next  stitch — looked  at  her  mother.  Her  expres 
sion  of  hopeless  defeat  was  pathetic,  and  her  silent, 
motionless  endurance  of  it,  touched  Isabel's  heart 
as  tears  and  complaints  never  could  have  done.  She 
rose  and,  taking  her  mother's  dropped  hand,  said : 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  197 

"  Never  mind,  mother.  You  will  often  see  Chris 
tina  wearing  her  fineries  in  her  grand  new  home. 
That  will  be  far  better  than  taking  them  out  of  a 
trunk  to  look  at." 

"  Isabel,  I  care  nothing  about  seeing  them.  I 
wanted  to  show  them.  People  will  never  believe 
she  got  all  I  said  she  did." 

"  Why  should  you  care  whether  they  believe  it 
or  not?  And  why  not  pay  the  newspapers  to  make 
a  notice  of  them.  They  will  send  some  youngster 
here  to  item  them,  and  you  can  give  him  a 
sovereign,  and  a  glass  of  wine,  and  then  you 
can  give  Christina  all  the  wonderfuls  you  like — even 
to  the  half,  or  the  whole,  of  Sir  Thomas  Wynton's 
estate." 

"  That  is  the  plan,  Isabel.  I'm  glad  you  thought 
of  it." 

"  Robert  is  gey  fond  of  a  newspaper  notice. 
He'll  pay  the  sovereign  without  a  grumble." 

"  I'm  sure  you  are  an  extraordinar'  comfort, 
Isabel." 

"  And  I  thought  you  were  going  to  order  the 
wedding  cake  this  morning.  There  is  really  no 
time  to  lose,  mother." 

"  You  are  right,  Isabel,  and  I  must  just  put  back 
my  own  sair  heartache  and  look  after  the  ungrate 
ful,  thrawart  woman's  wedding  cake.  It's  untelling 
what  I  have  done  for  Christina,  and  the  upsetting 
ways  o'  her  this  morning  and  the  words  she  said, 
I'll  never  forget.  I  shall  come  o'er  them  in  my 
mind  as  long  as  I  live;  and  I'll  tell  her  what  I  think 


198  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

of  her  behavior,  whenever  I  find  a  proper  oppor 
tunity." 

"  Very  well,  mother.  Tell  her  flatly  your  last 
thought;  it  will  be  the  best  way." 

"  I  will." 

"  But  do  go  about  the  cake  at  once.  It  is  im 
portant,  and  there's  none  but  yourself  will  be 
heeded." 

Then  with  a  long,  deep  sigh,  she  went  slowly 
out  of  the  room,  and  Isabel  watched  her  affected 
weakness  and  indifference  with  a  kind  of  scornful 
pity.  For  women  see  through  women,  know  in 
tuitively  their  little  tricks  and  make-beliefs,  and  for 
this  very  reason  a  daughter's  love  for  her  mother — 
however  devoted  and  self-sacrificing — lacks  that 
something  of  mystical  worship  which  a  son  feels  for 
his  mother.  The  daughter  knows  she  wears  false 
hair  and  false  teeth  and  pink  and  white  powder; 
the  son  simply  takes  her  as  she  looks  and  thinks 
"what  a  lovely  mother  I  have!"  The  daughter 
has  watched  her  mother's  little  schemes  for  happy 
household  management,  and  probably  helped  her  in 
them;  the  son  knows  only  their  completed  comfort 
and  their  personal  pleasure.  He  never  dreams  of 
any  policy  or  management  in  his  mother's  words 
and  deeds,  and  hence  he  believes  in  her  just  as  he 
sees  and  hears  her.  And  her  wisdom  and  love  seem 
to  him  so  great  and  so  unusual,  that  an  element  of 
reverence — the  highest  feeling  of  which  man  is  capa 
ble — blends  itself  with  all  his  conceptions  of  mother. 
And  the  wonder  is,  that  a  daughter's  love  exists, 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  199 

and  persists,  without  it.  Knowing  all  her  mother's 
feminine  weaknesses,  she  loves  her  devotedly  in  spite 
of  them — nay,  perhaps  loves  her  the  more  profoundly 
because  of  them.  And  if  she  is  not  capable  of  this 
affection  she  does  not  love  her  at  all. 

Isabel  watched  her  mother  leave  the  house  on  the 
wedding  cake  business  and  then  she  went  to  her 
sister's  room.  She  found  her  dressing  to  go  out. 
"  I  have  an  appointment  at  eleven,  Isabel,"  she  said, 
"  and  I  am  so  glad  you  have  come  to  sit  beside  me 
while  I  dress.  The  days  are  going  so  fast,  and 
very  soon  now  you  will  come  to  my  room,  and 
Christina  will  not  be  here,  any  more  in  this 
life." 

"  You  will  surely  come  back  to  your  own  home 
sometimes,  Christina?" 

"  No.  I  shall  never  enter  Traquair  House  again, 
unless  you  are  sick  and  need  me — then  I  would  come. 
I  have  just  been  going  through  my  top  drawer, 
Isabel;  it  was  full  of  old  gifts  and  keepsakes,  and 
I  declare  they  brought  tears  to  my  eyes." 

"Why?  I  dare  say  the  givers  have  forgotten 
you — they  were  mostly  school  friends,  and  the 
Campbelton  crowd." 

"  Do  you  think  I  had  a  tear  for  any  of  them? 
No,  no !  I  was  nearly  crying  for  myself,  for  it 
was  really  piteous  to  see  the  trash  a  woman  of  my 
age  thought  worth  preserving.  I  sent  the  whole 
contents  of  the  drawer  to  the  kitchen — the  servant 
lasses  may  quarrel  about  them." 

"  Was  there  nothing  worth  taking  to  your  new 


2OO  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

home?  No  single  thing  that  had  a  loving,  or  a 
pleasant  memory?  " 

"  Not  one.  The  whole  mess  of  needlework,  and 
painted  cards,  toilet  toys,  and  sham  trinkets  repre 
sented  my  existence  until  Dora  came.  It  was  just 
as  useless  and  unsatisfying  as  the  trash  flung  into 
the  kitchen.  Dora  opened  the  gates  of  life  for  me. 
Poor  Dora !  " 

"  Why  do  you  say  '  poor  Dora  '  ?  " 

"  She  is  unhappy,  disappointed,  I  have  some 
times  thought  almost  frightened.  She  is  much 
changed.  Robert  is  not  kind  to  her,  and  he  ought 
to  be  ashamed  of  himself.  I  wonder  if  my  intended 
husband  will  act  as  Robert  has  done?" 

"  Sir  Thomas  is  much  in  love  with  you." 

"  Robert  was  much  in  love  with  Dora.  See  how 
it  ends.  He  sits  reading,  or  he  lies  asleep  on  the 
sofa  the  evenings  he  is  with  her — and  he  used  to 
feel  as  if  the  day  was  not  long  enough  to  tell  her 
how  lovely  and  how  dear  she  was.  I  suppose  Sir 
Thomas  will  act  in  the  same  way." 

"  I  do  not  think  he  will." 

"  He  had  better  not." 

"  Oh,  Christina,  do  not  talk — do  not  even  think 
of  such  contingencies.  Women  should  never 
threaten." 

"Pray,  why  not?" 

"  Because  it  is  dangerous  to  themselves  to  show 
their  teeth  if  they  cannot  bite,  and  they  cannot. 
Women  in  this  country  are  helpless  as  babies." 

"  Then  there  are  other  countries." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  201 

"  Hush!  This  is  uncanny  talk.  What  a  pretty 
suit!  Are  you  going  to  wear  it  to-day?  " 

"  Yes,  it  is  a  spring  suit,  and  this  is  a  lovely  spring 
morning.  I  heard  the  robins  singing  as  you  came 
upstairs." 

"  Mother  has  gone  to  order  the  wedding  cake — 
you  ought  to  be  a  happy  woman,  Christina." 

"  I  am — and  yet,  Isabel,  life  will  be  bare  without 
you.  All  my  life  long  you  have  been  my  comfort, 
and  I  love  you,  yes,  I  love  you  dearly,  Isabel." 

"  And  I  love  you,  Christina.  I  shall  miss  you 
every  hour  of  the  day." 

Then  they  were  both  silent,  they  had  said  all  they 
could  say,  and  much  more  than  was  usual.  Chris 
tina  finished  her  toilet,  and  Isabel  sat  watching  her, 
then  they  clasped  hands  and  walked  downstairs  to 
gether,  and  so  to  the  front  door,  which  Jepson  opened 
as  Christina  approached  it.  For  a  few  moments 
Isabel  stood  there  and  watched  her  sister  enter  the 
waiting  carriage,  and  felt  well  repaid  when  Chris 
tina,  as  the  horses  moved,  fluttered  her  white  hand 
kerchief  in  a  parting  salute. 

Mrs.  Campbell  returned  in  time  for  lunch.  She 
had  quite  recovered  her  dignity,  and  was  indeed 
more  than  usually  vaunting  and  exultant.  "  I  have 
ordered  a  cake  twice  the  ordinary  size,"  she  said, 
"  and  the  small  boxes,  and  the  narrow  white  ribbon, 
in  which  to  send  friends  not  present  at  the  ceremony 
a  portion.  It  will  be  a  labor  to  tie  them  up,  and 
direct  them,  but  there  will  be  a  house  full  to  help 
you.  When  will  your  dress  be  done,  Isabel?" 


2O2  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  To-night,  mother." 

"  And  Christina's  comes  to-morrow  night.  Mine 
is  finished.  I  called  at  Dalmeny's  to  examine  it. 
The  lace  is  particularly  effective,  and  it  fits — which 
is  a  wonder.  Will  Sir  Thomas  be  here  to  dinner?  " 

"  He  has  gone  to  Edinburgh  for  the  Wynton  dia 
monds.  He  has  set  his  heart  on  Chritsina  wearing 
them  at  the  marriage  ceremony." 

"  I  do  not  approve  his  determination.  A  bride, 
in  my  opinion,  ought  to  be  dressed  with  great  sim 
plicity.  I  was.  A  few  orange  blossoms,  or  the 
like  of  them,  are  enough." 

"  Not  always.  A  young  girl  looks  well  enough 
with  a  few  flowers,  but  a  woman  in  the  prime  of 
life,  like  Christina,  can  wear  diamonds  even  on  her 
wedding-day,  and  look  grander  and  lovelier  for 
them." 

"  Well,  well !  Your  way  be  it.  I  do  not  expect 
my  opinions  to  be  regarded,  but  can  tell  you  one 
thing — if  Sir  Thomas  goes  on  giving  her  gems  at 
the  rate  he  has  done,  the  Wynton  baronage  will  be 
in  a  state  of  perfect  beggary,  before  the  end  of 
their  lives.  I  was  just  telling  Mrs.  Malcolm  that 
I  verily  believed  the  sum-total  o'  Sir  Thomas  Wyn- 
ton's  gifts  to  my  daughter  might  reach  all  o'  a  ten 
thousand  pounds,  and  she  was  that  astonished,  she 
could  barely  keep  her  composure." 

"  That  is  just  like  yourself,  mother.  I  do  wish 
you  would  not  boast  so  much  about  Sir  Thomas. 
He  is  not  any  kind  of  a  miraculous  godsend,  for 
Christina  is  quite  as  good  as  he  is." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  203 

"  Isabel,  if  my  family  has  been  honored  with 
extraordinar'  mercies,  I  am  not  the  woman  to  deny 
them,  or  even  hide  them  in  a  napkin,  as  it  were.  I 
am  going  to  be  thankful  for  them  and  speak  well 
of  them  to  all  and  sundry.  I  am  going  to  rejoice 
day  and  night  over  the  circumstance.  I  think  it 
just  and  right  to  testify  my  gratitude  so  far;  and 
I  would  think  shame  o'  myself  if  I  did  not  do 
it."- 

"  Very  well,  mother.  Christina  had  a  new  spring 
suit  on  to-day.  She  looked  exceedingly  handsome 
in  it." 

"  Bailie  Littlejohn  remarked  to  me  lately,  that 
my  daughter  Christina  was  the  very  picture  o'  my 
self,  when  I  was  about  her  age.  And  he  remem 
bered  me  ever  since  we  were  in  the  dancing  class 
together — that  is  forty  years — maybe  forty-one,  or 
two,  or  perhaps  as  many  as  forty " 

"  Never  mind  the  years,  mother.  It  is  very  nice 
of  the  Bailie  to  remember  so  long." 

"  I  always  made  long — I  may  say  lasting  impres 
sions,  Isabel.  It  was  my  way — or  gift — a  kind  of 
power  I  had.  People  who  once  know  me,  never 
forget  me.  It  is  rather  a  peculiar  power,  I  think." 

"  Christina  seems  very  happy,  mother." 

"Of  course  she  is  happy!  It  would  be  a  black, 
burning  shame  if  she  were  not.  Sir  Thomas  is 
all  she  deserves,  and  more  too,  yet  I  am  glad  he 
has  withdrawn  himself  to-night,  for  I  am  fairly 
fagged  out  with  fine  dinners,  and  I  shall  tell  Mc- 
Nab  to  give  us  some  mutton  broth  and  collops  to- 


204  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

night.  It  will  be  a  thanksgiving  to  have  the  plainest 
dinner  she  can  cook." 

"  Christina  may  not  like  it." 

"  Then  she  can  dislike  it.  I  am  not  fearing  Chris 
tina.  I  wish  you  would  ask  Dora  what  she  is  going 
to  wear." 

"Tell   Robert  to  do  so." 

"  I  have  heard  tell  of  no  new  dress,  and  it  would 
be  just  like  her  to  wear  her  own  wedding  dress." 

"  Is  there  anything  against  her  doing  so?  " 

"  Is  there  anything  against  it?  Certainly  there 
is.  We  do  not  want  any  one  in  white  satin  but 
Christina." 

"Oh!  I  see.  Robert  must  explain  that  to  her. 
Tell  him  so  to-night.  You  had  better  take  a  sleep 
this  afternoon,  mother.  You  look  tired." 

"  I  will  rest  until  seven.  What  time  will  Chris 
tina  be  home?  " 

"  She  did  not  tell  me." 

"  Where  was  she  going?  " 

"  To  Marion  Brodie's.  She  spoke  of  Flora  Mc- 
Leod  being  with  Marion  to-day,  and  of  the  necessity 
of  making  each  of  them  understand  their  duties." 

"Duties?" 

"  As  chief  bride-maidens." 

"  Yes,  yes,  of  course !  But  she  will  be  home  to 
dinner?  " 

"  Oh,  certainly;  and  Marion  may  come  back  with 
her.  If  so,  how  will  the  plain  dinner  do?  " 

"Well  enough!  Marion's  mother  was  brought 
up  on  mutton  broth  and  haggis;  and  the  wealth 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  205 

o'  the  Brodies  is  o'er  young  to  be  in  the  fashions 
yet  awhile.  I  will  be  down  at  seven,  and  mean 
while  you  may  speak  to  Christina  anent  her  duty. 
I  do  think  her  wedding  dress  ought  to  be  home  even 
the  now." 

"  Mother,  it  will  not  come  until  the  day  before 
the  marriage.  She  is  afraid  of  it  being  handled." 

"Preserve  us!  Why  shouldn't  it  be  handled? 
It  is  pure  selfishness.  She  is  against  sharing  her 
pleasure  with  any  other  soul.  That  is  the  because 
of  her  ill-natured  conduct.  See  that  dinner  is  ready 
punctual.  Your  brother  was  in  one  of  his  north 
easter  tempers  this  morning,  and  the  day's  work  isn't 
likely  to  have  sorted  him  any  better." 

Then  half-reluctantly  she  went  upstairs.  She 
would  rather  have  remained  with  Isabel  and  talked 
affairs  over  again;  but  Isabel  was  depressed  and  not 
inclined  to  conversation.  The  old  lady  wondered, 
as  she  slowly  climbed  the  stairs,  "  What  the  young 
people  of  this  generation  were  made  of?"  She 
felt  that  she  had  more  enthusiasm  than  either  of 
her  daughters,  and  then  sighed  deeply,  because  it 
received  so  little  sympathy. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

A  RUNAWAY  BRIDE 

Ax  seven  precisely  Mrs.  Campbell  re-entered  the  din 
ing-room.  Isabel  was  already  there,  and  Jepson  was 
bringing  in  the  broth.  Neither  Robert  nor  Christina 
was  present,  and  she  wondered  a  little,  but  asked  no 
questions.  In  a  few  moments  Theodora  took  her 
place,  and  without  remark  permitted  Jepson  to  serve 
her.  But  she  was  evidently  in  trouble,  and  she  did 
not  touch  the  food  before  her.  At  length  Mrs. 
Campbell  asked : 

"  Where  is  Robert ?     Is  he  not  ready  for  dinner?  " 

"  He  is  asleep.  I  suppose  he  is  not  ready  for 
dinner." 

"  What  time  did  he  return  home?  " 

"  Very  early.  He  said  he  was  sleepy.  He  is 
always  sleepy.  I  fear  he  is  ill,  a  healthy  man  cannot 
always  be  needing  sleep." 

"  The  Campbells,  all  of  them,  are  famous  for  their 
ability  to  sleep.  They  can  sleep  at  all  hours,  and 
in  any  place — a  four-inch-wide  plank  would  suffice 
them  for  a  sofa.  They  can  order  a  sleep  whenever 
they  desire,  and  it  comes.  It  is  very  remarkable." 

'  Very,"  answered  Theodora,  in  a  tone  of  unavoid 
able  contempt. 

206 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  207 

"  I  have  heard  people  say  it  was  a  great  gift,  and 
it  is  quite  a  family  gift." 

"  I  hope  my  little  David  will  not  inherit  it,"  said 
Theodora. 

"  There  is  nothing  of  the  Campbell  family  about 
the  boy,"  replied  Mrs.  Campbell. 

Theodora  did  not  say  she  was  glad,  but  she 
looked  the  words,  and  her  expression  of  satisfaction 
was  annoying  to  both  Isabel  and  her  mother.  The 
former  said  with  petulant  decision: 

"  I  can  sleep  at  any  time  I  wish.  I  think  this  fam 
ily  trait  is  a  great  and  peculiar  blessing." 

"  Circumstances  may  sometimes  make  it  so,  Isabel," 
answered  Theodora,  "  but  I  would  rather  wake  and 
suffer,  than  sink  into  animal  unconsciousness  half 
my  life.  Robert  has  slept,  or  pretended  to  sleep, 
twelve  hours  out  of  the  last  twenty-four,  and  he 
does  not  even  dream." 

"  Dream ! "  cried  Mrs.  Campbell  in  disgust, 
"  dream,  I  hope  not!  Only  fools  dream.  My  chil 
dren  go  to  bed  for  the  purpose  of  sleeping.  Dream 
indeed!  The  Campbells  have  good  sense,  and  they 
don't  lose  it  when  they  sleep." 

"  Oh,  but  I  think  dreaming  is  one  of  the  most 
sensible  things  we  do.  The  soul  is  comforted  by 
dreaming,  instructed  and  warned  by  dreaming.  I 
should  feel  spiritually  dead,  if  the  blessed,  prophesy 
ing  dreams  failed  to  visit  me." 

"  I  wonder  where  Christina  is  taking  dinner,"  said 
Mrs.  Campbell.  She  refused  to  continue  a  conver 
sation  so  senseless  and  disagreeable,  and  her  way  of 


208  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

doing  so,  was  not  only  to  ignore  Theodora's  topic, 
but  also  to  introduce  a  subject  which  she  considered 
important  and  interesting.  And  of  course  Christina's 
dinner  was  a  matter  that  put  dreaming  out  of  court 
and  question." 

Isabel  thought  she  was  dining  with  the  Brodies, 
and  Mrs.  Campbell  said,  "  In  that  case  she  ought 
to  have  sent  a  message  to  her  family." 

"  She  is  so  occupied,  mother,  she  forgets.  We 
must  make  some  allowances  at  this  time." 

"  Of  course,  Isabel.     I  expect  to  do  so." 

Then  the  door  was  suddenly  thrown  open  and 
Robert  entered.  His  face  was  dark,  he  was  biting 
his  thumbnail,  and  his  eyes  were  full  of  a  dull  fire. 
He  had  not  a  word  for  any  one  but  Jepson,  whom 
he  ordered  to  remove  the  broth.  "  The  house  smells 
of  it,"  he  said  with  an  air  of  disgust.  He  ate  what 
dinner  he  took  without  speaking,  an  act  Gothic,  al 
most  brutal,  when  it  can  be  avoided,  but  none  of  the 
three  women  cared  to  break  the  silence,  lest  they 
might  turn  silence  into  visible,  audible  anger. 

Theodora  made  a  pretence  of  eating,  but  it  was 
only  a  pretence  and  she  left  the  room  as  soon  as  the 
cloth  was  drawn.  Robert  did  not  in  any  way  notice 
her  departure,  but  he  began  a  grumbling  kind  of 
conversation  with  his  mother,  as  soon  as  the  three 
Campbells  were  alone.  He  said  he  was  worn  out 
with  the  expense  and  rioting  anent  Christina's  mar 
riage.  It  had  been  fine  dinners,  and  suppers,  and 
fooleries  of  all  kinds  for  weeks,  and  more  weeks,  and 
money  wasting  away  like  water  running  into  sand. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  209 

He  saw  no  good  coming  of  it.  He  was  glad  the 
end  was  in  sight,  etc.,  etc. — grumble,  grumble, 
grumble,  his  voice  never  lifted  above  a  deep,  sulky 
monotone,  his  face  dark  with  frowns  and  discontent. 

He  was  so  ill-tempered  Mrs.  Campbell  thought  it 
best  to  leave  him  alone  with  his  cigar.  It  seemed 
better  to  worry  out  her  anxieties  with  Isabel,  who, 
however,  was  not  in  a  mood  to  talk  them  away. 
"  I  am  so  depressed,  mother,"  she  complained.  "  I 
hardly  know  what  I  am  saying.  I  feel  as  if  I  had 
a  great  sorrow.  The  room  is  dark,  the  air  heavy, 
the  whole  house  feels  full  of  trouble.  It  is  crowded, 
too.  With  a  little  effort  I  feel  that  I  could  see  the 
crowd.  Do  you  understand  ?" 

"  My  God !  Isabel,  control  yourself.  We  want 
no  Second  Sight  here.  The  Argyle  Campbells  are 
great  seers,  and  you  must  close  your  ears  to  their 
whisperings,  and  whatever  sights  are  under  your  eye 
balls,  deny  them  vision.  You  must,  you  must !  For, 
as  your  grandfather,  Ivan  Campbell,  used  to  say,  '  the 
Second  Sight,  children,  isna  a  blessing,  it  is  aye  dool 
and  sorrow,  or  ill  chance  it  shows  you.'  ' 

"  Mother,  I  must  tell  you  the  truth.  I  am  un 
happy  about  Christina." 

"  So  am  I." 

"  She  ought  to  have  sent  us  a  message.  She  would, 
had  it  been  possible.  Oh,  mother,  what  or  who  pre 
vented  her?  " 

"  Perhaps  she  did.     Have  you  asked  Scot?  " 

"  No,  but  if  any  message  had  been  sent  by  him 
he  would  have  told  Jepson  at  once,  and  Jepson  heard 


2io  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

our  conversation  about  her  absence  at  the  dinner 
table,  yet  he  made  no  remark." 

"What  do  you  fear?" 

"  My  fear  has  no  form.  That  is  what  frightens 
me.  If  I  knew " 

"  You  are  nervous,  Isabel,  very  nervous.  She  left 
home  well,  and  in  good  spirits." 

"  I  never  saw  her  in  better  health,  or  finer 
spirits." 

"  Do  you  not  remember,  that  she  once  stayed  at 
Colonel  Allison's  till  near  midnight,  without  sending 
us  any  message?  We  were  in  a  fright  about  her 
at  that  time." 

"  But  you  commanded  her  never  to  do  the  like 
again." 

Christina  has  not  obeyed  my  commands  very  par 
ticularly  of  late.  They  do  not  seem  important  to 
her." 

"  She  has  had  so  much  to  do,  and  she  knew  Sir 
Thomas  would  not  be  in  Glasgow  to-night.  If  I 
knew  she  was  well  and  safe,  I  should  be  glad  she 
was  not  here,  for  this  is  an  unhappy  house  with 
Robert  in  the  devil's  own  temper,  and  Dora  looking 
like  the  grave." 

"  Dora  makes  Robert  ill-tempered.  It  is  all  her 
fault,  and  we  have  to  suffer  for  it." 

"  She  evidently  suffers  also." 

u  She  deserves  to  suffer." 

"  Suppose  we  send  for  Scot.  He  must  be  in  the 
stable  yet." 

"  As  you  like." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  211 

In  a  quarter  of  an  hour  Scot  stood  within  the 
dining-room  door  respectfully  indignant  at  the  sum 
mons  and  the  delay  it  would  cause  him.  He  was 
rather  glad  the  ladies  were  anxious  and  quite  in  the 
mood  to  tell  anything  he  thought  might  be  disagree 
able. 

"  Where  did  you  take  Miss  Christina  first  of  all 
this  morning,  Scot?  "  asked  Mrs.  Campbell. 

"  To  the  florist's  shop  on  Buchanan  Street.  She 
bought  a  posy  of  daffy-down-dillys  and  came  out  with 
them  in  her  hand." 

"Where  next?" 

"  To  Madame  Barnard's.  She  didna  stop  five 
minutes  there,  but  Madame  cam'  to  the  doorstep 
wi'  her,  and  bid  Miss  Christina  good-bye  and  wished 
her  a'  the  good  luck  in  the  round  world  itsel'." 

"Then?" 

"  She  told  me  then  to  go  back  to  the  stable,  but 
to  be  sure  and  come  for  her  at  four  o'clock.  I  asked 
where  I  was  to  come,  and  she  laughed  pleasantly 
and  said,  '  Come  to  Bailie  Brodie's,'  and  gave 
me  the  Crescent,  and  the  number  o'  the  house 
forbye." 

"  Did  you  go  to  Bailie  Brodie's  at  four 
o'clock?" 

"  I  did  that  same  thing,  ma'am." 

"Well?" 

"  A  servant  lass  told  me  Miss  Campbell  hadna 
been  there  that  day,  nor  that  week.  So  I  drove 
home  again,  and  at  half  after  five  I  went  to 
the  train  for  Mr.  Campbell,  but  I  missed  him. 


212  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

He  had  come  by  an  early  train,  while  I  was  at 
Brodies'." 

"  Did  you  notice  any  one  speak  to  Miss  Camp 
bell?" 

"  No  one." 

"  Did  she  take  the  right  way  to  Brodies'?  " 

"  She  took  the  best  way — up  Sauchiehall  Street." 

"  That  will  do,  Scot."  " 

Scot  shut  the  door,  and  the  two  women  looked 
with  troubled  eyes  into  each  other's  faces.  Mrs. 
Campbell  then  turned  to  the  clock  and  said,  "  It  is 
on  the  stroke  of  nine,  Isabel.  We  will  wait  until 
ten;  then  I  shall  speak  to  your  brother." 

The  hour  went  miserably,  almost  silently  away, 
and  then  Mrs.  Campbell  went  to  her  son.  He 
treated  her  fears  with  contemptuous  indifference. 
"  It  is  like  you  women,"  he  said,  "  you  always  make 
a  mountain  out  of  a  molehill.  If  any  one  of  the 
women  in  this  house  knows  how  to  take  care  of 
herself,  it  is  Christina  Campbell !  Go  to  your  beds, 
and  tell  Jepson  to  sit  up  for  her." 

"  Robert,  do  you  understand  that  she  said 
she  was  going  to  the  Brodies',  and  then  did 
not  go?  " 

"  Who  said  she  was  not  there?  " 

"  One  of  the  Brodie  servant  lasses." 

"  Tush!  She  went  there,  no  doubt,  but  did  not 
stay  long  enough  to  acquaint  that  particular  servant 
with  her  visit.  I  have  no  doubt  Marion  Brodie  and 
Christina  went  off  somewhere  together,  and  they  are 
likely  together  at  this  hour." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  213 

"  I  never  thought  of  that,  Robert.  Indeed  it  is 
very  likely  they  went  to  Netta  Galbraith,  who  is  to 
be  second  bridesmaid." 

"  Of  course,  and  they  are  having  a  mock  marriage 
in  order  to  practise  their  parts.  I  hope  we  shall 
have  no  more  marriages  in  the  family,  they  are 
ruinously  expensive,  and  make  nothing  but  misery 
and  anxiety." 

Mrs.  Campbell  sighed,  and  lifted  her  eyes  heaven 
ward,  but  she  did  not  remain  with  her  son.  She  was 
really  afraid  to  leave  Isabel,  for  she  looked  almost 
distracted,  and  on  the  point  of  vision.  "  And  I  will 
not  have  it,"  she  whispered  to  herself,  "  no,  I  will 
not.  There  shall  be  no  prophecy  of  calamity  in 
this  house,  whether  from  the  dead  or  the  living — 
not  if  mortal  woman  can  help  it." 

She  opened  the  dining-room  door  to  this  thought, 
and  Isabel  stayed  her  rapid  walk  and  asked  anxiously, 
"Well,  mother?" 

"  Your  brother  says  there  is  no  occasion  to  worry. 
He  made  out  a  very  clear  case  of  the  circumstance," 
and  she  explained  his  supposition  concerning  Chris 
tina's  and  Marion  Brodie's  visit  together  to  Netta 
Galbraith. 

Isabel  shook  her  head.  "  That  is  not  it,"  she 
answered  positively. 

"  He  advised  us  to  go  to  bed." 

"  I  will  not  until  Christina  returns,  or  Rob 
ert  does  something  to  clear  up  her  failure  to 
come." 

"How  do  you  feel?" 


214  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Unquiet  and  unhappy.  Mother,  something  ex 
traordinary  has  happened." 

"  I  hope  you  are  not  seeing  things." 

"  No.  The  '  visiting  '  is  past — but  it  will  come 
again." 

"  It  must  not !  It  must  not !  Deny  it  every  time ! 
Oh,  Isabel — if  anything  should  happen  to  put  off  the 
marriage,  whatever  should  we  do?  " 

"  Bear  it." 

"  The  talk  of  it!  The  wonder  of  it!  The  mor 
tification  of  it!  " 

"  Mother,  why  are  you  fearing  such  a  misfor 
tune?  Robert  says  all  is  right.  You  have  always 
believed  Robert's  word." 

"  Yes,  yes !  Robert  knows,  Robert  feels,  when  he 
is  in  the  right  mood,  but  to-night  he  is  in  a  bad 
mood — cross  and  evil  as  Satan." 

Dismally  they  talked  together  for  another  hour, 
and  then  Robert  joined  them.  He  had  caught  fear 
from  some  source,  and  he  asked  for  a  list  of  such 
places  as  Christina  was  likely  to  visit.  Then  he 
called  a  cab  and  went  first  to  Glover's  Theatre.  He 
was  just  in  time  to  see  the  exit  of  the  Box  crowd, 
but  Christina  was  not  among  them.  Suddenly  the 
consequences  of  a  delayed  marriage  struck  him  like 
a  buffet  in  his  face.  The  loss  of  money — the  loss  of 
prestige — the  talk — the  newspapers!  Oh,  the  thing 
was  impossible,  and  he  tried  to  put  the  apprehension 
of  it  away  with  a  stamp  of  his  foot.  He  was  equally 
unsuccessful  wherever  he  called.  No  one  had  seen 
Christina  that  day,  and  he  finally  went  home  puzzled, 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  215 

and  even  anxious,  but  sure  that  her  unaccountable 
absence  was  the  result  of  some  misunderstanding  that 
would  be  cleared  up  when  morning  came.  He  in 
sisted  on  the  family  retiring,  but  told  Jepson  to 
leave  the  gas  burning,  and  be  ready  to  open  the  door 
if  called  upon  to  do  so.  Then  he  also  went  upstairs, 
but  sleep  was  far  from  him.  Theodora  appeared 
to  be  asleep,  but  though  her  eyes  were  closed,  her 
heart  was  waking.  One  kind  word  would  have 
brought  him  all  the  comfort  love  could  give.  He 
was  touched,  however,  by  the  sweetness  and  peace 
that  brooded  over  her,  and  by  the  calm  and  restful 
atmosphere  pervading  her  room.  He  stood  a  mo 
ment  at  the  side  of  the  apparently  sleeping  woman, 
but  was  reluctant — perhaps  ashamed — to  awaken  her. 
David  slept  in  her  dressing-room  and  he  went  to 
the  child's  cot  and  looked  at  the  beautiful  boy. 
When  he  was  asleep,  the  likeness  to  his  father  was 
very  evident,  and  Robert  noticed  it. 

"  I  was  once  as  innocent  and  as  fair  as  he  is.  I 
must  have  looked  just  like  him,"  and  sitting  down 
by  a  table  he  held  his  head  in  his  hands,  and  thought 
of  them,  and  of  Christina's  delay,  listening  always 
for  the  carriage,  the  step,  the  ring  at  the  door,  that 
never  came. 

The  next  morning  the  whole  family  were  late  and 
unrested.  Jepson  was  sorting  the  mail  as  Isabel 
came  downstairs,  and  she  asked  anxiously,  "  What 
time  is  it,  Jepson?  " 

"  Nine  o'clock,  miss.  Here  is  a  letter  for  you, 
miss." 


2i6  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

She  saw  at  once  it  was  from  Christina,  and  she 
took  it  eagerly,  and  ran  back  to  her  own  room  with 
it.  Trembling  from  head  to  feet,  she  broke  the 
seal  and  read: 

MY  DEAR  SISTER: 

I  was  married  to-day  at  half-past  eleven  to  Jamie 
Rathey.  I  met  him  twelve  days  ago,  and  we  went 
into  the  picture  gallery,  and  sat  there  all  day  talking, 
and  I  found  out  that  I  loved  Jamie,  and  did  not  love 
Sir  Thomas.  I  promised  to  marry  him,  and  we 
rented  a  nice  floor  and  furnished  it  very  prettily, 
and  hired  two  servants,  and  so  after  the  marriage 
ceremony,  went  to  our  own  home  for  lunch.  Do 
not  blame  me,  Isabel.  I  have  never  been  happy  in 
all  my  life,  and  I  want  to  be  happy,  and  I  shall  be 
happy  with  Jamie.  I  have  sent  all  the  gifts  Sir 
Thomas  gave  me  back,  and  written  him  a  letter. 
He  will  forgive  me,  and  I  know  you  will.  Mother 
will  forbid  you  to  mention  me,  and  she  will  never 
forgive.  I  know  Robert  will  feel  hurt,  but  he  has 
no  cause.  I  begged  him  to  secure  the  fish  that  was 
on  the  hook  for  him,  and  he  would  not.  I  thought 
all  well  over,  and  I  did  not  see  why  I  should  any 
longer  sacrifice  myself  for  the  Campbells.  For 
twenty-eight  years  I  was  miserable — child  and  woman. 
Nobody  loved  me  but  Jamie.  I  had  nothing  other 
girls  and  women  had.  But  I  am  happy  at  last! 
Happy  at  last !  Oh,  Isabel,  be  glad  for  me.  I  will 
write  to  you  every  month,  but  you  need  not  try  to 
find  me  out.  You  could  not.  You  might  as  well 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  217 

look  for  a  needle  in  a  hay-stack.     Dear  Isabel,  do  not 
forget  me.     Your  loving  sister, 

CHRISTINA  RATHEY. 

And  Isabel  cried  and  wrung  her  hands  and  said 
softly,  but  from  her  very  heart,  "  I  am  glad,  I  am 
glad !  You  did  right,  Christina !  Yes,  you  did ! 
You  did !  And  Isabel  will  stand  by  you  till  the  last. 
She  will!  She  will!" 

With  tears  still  on  her  white  cheeks,  she  went  down 
to  the  dining-room.  Robert  and  his  mother  were  at 
the  table,  and  evidently  not  on  agreeable  terms. 
"  Jepson  thought  you  had  a  letter  from  Christina," 
said  Mrs.  Campbell,  "  and  I  am  astonished  you  did 
not  bring  it  to  us,  at  once." 

"  I  thought  it  would  be  better,  to  see  first  what 
news  it  contained." 

"  Well?     Can  you  not  speak?  " 

Then  Isabel  put  the  letter  into  her  mother's  hand. 

And  in  a  few  minutes  there  was  a  cry  like  that 
of  a  woman  wounded  and  crushed  to  death.  With 
frantic  passion  Mrs.  Campbell  threw  the  letter  at 
her  son,  and  then  with  bitter  execrations  assailed  the 
child  she  accused  of  killing  her. 

"Mother,  mother!  Do  be  quiet!"  pleaded 
Isabel. 

"  She  has  killed  me !  I  shall  die  of  shame !  I 
shall  die !  She  has  broken  my  heart !  " 

Robert  read  the  letter  through,  his  face  growing 
darker  and  darker  as  he  read.  When  he  had  fin 
ished,  he  threw  it  on  the  fire,  and  Isabel  rushed  to 


21 8  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

the  grate  and  rescued  it,  though  it  was  smoked,  and 
browned,  and  mostly  illegible.  But  she  clasped  its 
tinder  and  ashes  in  her  hands,  cried  over  them,  and 
finally  left  the  room  with  the  precious  relics  clasped 
to  her  heart. 

"  Have  you  gone  crazy  too?  "  called  her  mother. 

"  Let  her  alone !  "  said  Robert. 

"  And  pray  what  is  the  matter  with  you?  " 

"  I  am  ashamed  of  the  way  you  are  behaving." 

"  It  is  your  sister  of  whom  you  must  be  ashamed. 
Her  disgraceful  marriage  will  kill  me." 

"It  is  the  result  of  your  own  doing,  and  with 
holding." 

"  I  am  to  bear  the  blame,  of  counse.  Poor 
mother!  " 

"  You  never  gave  her  any  happiness,  and  when  she 
got  the  opportunity  she  gave  it  to  herself.  That 
was  natural." 

"  She  had  all  the  happiness  I  had." 

"  You  had  your  husband,  your  family,  your  house, 
your  servants,  and  your  social  duties.  You  were 
quite  happy,  but  none  of  these  things  made  happiness 
for  your  daughters.  They  wanted  the  pleasures  of 
youth — gay  company,  gay  clothing,  travel  and  lovers, 
and  none  of  these  things  you  gave  them.  I  was  often 
very  sorry  for  them." 

"  Then  why  did  you  not  help  them  yourself?  " 

"  Do  you  remember  the  year  I  begged  you  to 
take  your  daughters  to  Edinburgh  and  London,  and 
offered  to  pay  all  expenses,  and  you  would  not  do  it?  " 

"  I  did  not  wish  to  go  to  Edinburgh  and  London." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  219 

"  No,  you  wanted  to  go  to  Campbelton,  and  so 
you  made  your  daughters  go  with  you,  though  they 
hated  the  place.  There  Christina  met  this  low  fel 
low  whom  she  married.  She  had  no  other  lover. 
To  the  Campbelton  rabble  you  sacrificed  my  sisters 
from  their  babyhood." 

"Robert  Campbell!  How  dare  you  call  my 
kindred  'rabble'?" 

"  The  name  is  good  enough.  Do  you  think  I 
have  forgotten  how  they  treated  my  wife's  clothing, 
and  our  rooms?  " 

"  What  are  you  bringing  up  that  old  story  for?  " 

"  It  conies  in  naturally  to-day,  and  I  have  not  for 
gotten  it.  For  your  cruelty  at  that  time,  you  are 
rightly  served.  Christina  has  avenged  Theodora." 

He  flung  the  last  words  at  her  over  his  shoulder 
as  he  left  the  room.  She  had  no  opportunity  to 
answer  them,  indeed  she  was  not  able  to  do  so.  It 
seemed  to  her  as  if  she  had  been  stricken  dumb  from 
head  to  feet;  as  if  her  world  was  being  swept  away 
from  her,  and  she  could  not  protest  against  it. 
Isabel  had  left  her  in  anger  and  opposition.  Robert 
in  reproach.  As  for  Christina,  she  had  smitten  her 
on  every  side,  and  gone  away  without  contrition  and 
without  reproof.  And  Robert's  few  words  had  been 
keener  than  a  sword,  for  they  were  edged  with  Truth, 
and  Truth  drove  them  to  her  very  soul. 

But  she  had  no  thought  of  surrendering  any  foot 
hold  of  her  position.  She  only  wanted  time  to  con 
sider  herself,  for  this  solid  defection  of  son  and 
daughters  had  come  like  a  cataclysm  out  of  a  clear 


220  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

sky,  unforeseen,  entire,  and  apparently  complete  in 
its  misery.  Her  first  resolve  was  to  go  to  Theodora, 
and  have  the  circumstance  "  out "  with  her.  But 
her  limbs  were  as  heavy  as  her  heart,  and  when  with 
difficulty  she  reached  the  door  of  the  room,  she  heard 
her  son  talking  to  his  wife.  And  it  had  been 
brought  home  to  her  that  morning  that  Robert  could 
not  be  depended  on,  therefore  she  must  risk  no  more 
uncertain  encounters.  Theodora  alone,  she  did  not 
fear;  but  Theodora  and  Robert  in  alliance  meant 
certain  defeat. 

So  she  stumbled  back  to  the  sofa  and  sat  down. 
Nature  ordered  her  to  lie  down,  but  she  flatly  re 
fused.  u  This  is  a  critical  time,"  she  said  to  herself, 
"  and  Margaret  Campbell,  there  is  to  be  no  lying 
down.  You  be  to  keep  on  the  defensive."  But  she 
rang  for  Jepson,  and  told  him  to  tell  Miss  Campbell 
her  mother  wanted  her.  In  a  few  minutes  Isabel  an 
swered  the  summons,  and  as  soon  as  she  entered  the 
room  she  cried  out,  "Oh,  mother,  mother,  mother! 
what  is  the  matter?  You  are  ill." 

"  Ay,  Isabel,  I  am  ill,  and  it  would  be  a  miracle 
if  I  were  not  ill."  The  words  came  slowly  and  with 
effort,  and  Isabel  was  terrified  by  her  mother's  face, 
for  it  was  gray  as  ashes,  and  had  on  it  an  expression 
of  terror,  as  if  she  had  looked  on  Death  as  he  passed 
her  by. 

"  Lie  down,  mother.     You  ought  to  lie  down." 
"  Get  me  a  glass — a  big  glass — of  red  Burgundy." 
Isabel  obeyed,   and  when  she  had  drunk  it,  she 
said  in  something  of  her  natural  voice  and  manner, 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  221 

"  Burgundy  is  the  strong  wine.  It  is  full  of  iron, 
and  we  require  plenty  of  iron  in  our  blood.  In  the 
common  crowd,  it  goes  to  their  hands,  and  helps 
them  to  work  hard,  but  in  the  Campbell  clans,  it 
goes  to  the  hearts  of  both  men  and  women." 

"  And  makes  them  hard-hearted." 

"  Hard  to  their  own,  and  worse  to  their  foes — and 
to  strangers.  Oh,  Isabel,  Isabel,  this  is  the  blackest 
day  I  have  ever  seen !  What  shall  we  do  ?  " 

"  Bear  it.     Others  have  borne  the  like.     We  can." 

"  I  can  never  look  my  friends  in  the  face  again." 

"  Never  mind  either  friends  or  foes.  In  nine  days 
they  will  have  said  their  say.  Let  them." 

"  Yesterday  at  this  hour,  I  was  the  proudest  and 
happiest  woman  in  Glasgow.  To-day  I  am " 

"  The  bravest  woman  in  Glasgow.  Defy  your 
trouble,  as  you  always  do.  Christina's  conduct  is 
most  unusual,  and  few  will  understand  it — they 
can't.  But,  oh  mother,  stand  by  your  daughter! 
Tell  every  one,  that  when  she  found  out  she  loved 
Mr.  Rathey  better  than  Sir  Thomas  Wynton,  she 
did  what  was  honorable  and  womanly,  and  that  you 
admire  her  truth  and  sincerity,  though  of  course, 
somewhat  disappointed.  Such  words  as  these  will 
silence  the  ill-natured,  and  satisfy  the  friendly.  You 
will  say  them,  mother?" 

"  Something  like  them,  no  doubt." 

"  And  we  must  find  Christina,  and  you  will  for 
give  her,  and  protect  her?" 

"  I  will  do  no  such  things." 

"  It  would  stop  people's  tongues." 


222  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Their  tongues  may  clash  till  doomsday,  ere  I 
will  stop  them  that  gate.  Never  name  the  wicked 
woman  to  me  again.  I  do  not  know  her  any  more, 
and  I  do  not  want  to  know,  whether  she  is  living  or 
dead,  in  plenty  or  /poverty,  sick  or  well,  happy  or 
miserable.  She  is  out  o'  this  world,  as  far  as  I 
am  concerned.  Sure!" 

"What  did  Robert  say?" 

"  Threw  the  whole  blame  on  mysel' — evil  be  to 
him!" 

"Mother!" 

"  Yes,  evil  be  to  the  son  who  condemns  his  mother, 
whether  she  be  right  or  wrong." 

"  He  will  not  get  Sir  Thomas  to  invest  money 
in  the  works  now,  I  fear.  That  will  trouble 
him." 

"  Weel !  The  Campbell  furnaces  have  kept  blaz 
ing  so  far,  without  Wynton  siller  to  help  them,  and 
their  fires  willna  go  out  for  the  want  o'  it." 

"  I  wonder  how  Sir  Thomas  will  take  his  dis 
appointment." 

"  It  is  untelling  how  any  man  will  take  anything. 
You  couldna  speculate  as  to  how  Robert  Campbell 
would  take  a  plate  o'  parritch;  he  might  like  them, 
and  he  might  send  them  to  the  Back  o'  Beyond.  All 
men  are  made  that  way,  and  we  poor  women  can 
only  put  up  wi'  their  tempers  and  tantrums.  God 
help  us !  " 

At  this  moment  Jepson  entered  with  a  basket  filled 
with  moss  and  purple  pansies.  A  card  was  attached 
bearing  the  following  message: 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  223 

"  Sir  Thomas  Wynton  sends  sincere  sympathy, 
and  kind  regards  to  Mrs.  and  Miss  Campbell.  He 
will  not  intrude  on  their  grief  at  present,  but  will 
call  in  a  few  days." 

Isabel  laid  her  face  against  the  flowers,  Mrs. 
Campbell  read  the  card  with  pleasure,  and  a  slight 
flush  of  color  came  back  to  her  cheeks. 

"  This  bit  of  card  will  give  me  the  upper  hand  of 
a'  the  clashing  jades,  who  come  here  wondering  and 
sighing,  and  doubting  and  fearing.  I  shall  shake 
it  in  their  faces,  and  bid  them  tak'  notice  that  Sir 
Thomas  Wynton  is  still  in  the  family  as  it  were. 
And  I  shall  make  one  other  observe  anent  the  mar 
riage  failure,  that  Sir  Thomas  will  take  as  personal, 
any  and  all  unpleasant  remarks  concerning  the 
Campbells." 

"  When  Sir  Thomas  pays  his  visit " 

"  You  be  to  see  that  Dora  is  present.  The  crea 
ture  has  a  wonderful  way  o'  saying  consoling  words. 
I  hae  noticed  that  all  men  find  her  pleasant  and 
satisfactory.  She  has  the  trick  o'  speaking  just 
what  they  want  to  hear — the  jade !  " 

"  Do  speak  decently  of  Dora,  mother.  She  is 
Robert's  wife." 

"  More's  the  pity.  God  help  the  poor  man! 
Little  pleasure  he  has  wi'  her." 

"  It  is  not  her  fault." 

"I  see  how  it  is — she  will  lead  you  wrong  next." 

"  No  one  can  lead  me  wrong.  I  wonder  if  Sir 
Thomas  went  to  see  Robert  to-day." 


224  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  I  think  Robert  would  go  and  see  him.  We 
may  wonder  all  day,  but  we  will  know,  when  Robert 
comes  home;  that  is,  if  his  temper  will  let  him  talk. 
Dod!  but  he  is  a  true  Campbell — flesh,  blood,  and 
bone." 

"  When  Robert  was  in  love  with  Dora,  love  made 
him  a  kind,  good-tempered  man." 

"  Kind  men  are  not  profitable  in  a  house ;  they 
give  where  they  ought  to  grip;  and  it  is  a  sma' 
share  o'  this  world  you  will  get  wi'  good  temper. 
You  be  to  threep,  and  threaten  for  what  you  want, 
and  the  fires  in  the  furnaces  would  soon  burn  low,  if 
there  was  a  kind,  good-tempered  man  watching  o'er 
them." 

"  Now  you  are  talking  like  yourself,  mother.  You 
will  soon  put  your  trouble  under  your  feet." 

"  Weel,  I  am  not  going  to  sit  down  on  the  ash- 
heap  wi'  it,  as  the  parfect  man  o'  Uz  did — if  there 
ever  was  such  a  man — which  I  am  doubting;  all 
the  mair,  because  nobody  I  ever  heard  of  could  tell 
me  in  what  country  on  the  face  o'  the  globe  a  place 
called  Uz  might  be  found.  If  there  isna  a  place 
called  Uz,  it  is  mair  than  likely  there  never  was  a 
man  called  Job." 

11  The  Bible  says  there  was." 

"  Ay,  in  a  parable.  The  Bible  is  aye  ready  to 
drop  into  a  parable." 

"  Mother,  if  you  would  try  and  sleep  now." 

"  I  will  not.  I  would  get  sick  if  I  did.  I  am 
on  watch  at  present,  for  I  am  not  up  to  mark,  and 
I  will  not  gie  sickness  the  fine  opportunity  o'  sleep. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  22$ 

If  Robert  comes  hame  reasonable,  I'll  have  my  talk 
out  wi'  him.  I  am  not  going  to  suffer  his  contradic 
tions,  not  if  I  know  it." 

Fortunately  Robert  came  home  early,  and  was  in 
a  civil  and  communicative  mood.  He  said  "  he  had 
been  to  see  Sir  Thomas,  and  had  been  treated  in  the 
most  considerate  manner." 

"What  did  he  say  about  Christina?"  asked  Isa 
bel  timidly. 

"  He  would  hear  no  wrong  of  her.  He  said 
she  had  written  him  a  beautiful  letter,  a  most  honor 
able  letter,  a  letter  he  would  prize  to  his  dying  hour. 
He  thought  she  had  done  right,  both  for  herself 
and  him.  He  told  me  she  had  returned  all  his  gifts, 
and  he  had  directed  the  jeweler  to  hold  them  for  her 
further  orders.  He  thinks  she  will  be  sure  to  call 
there,  in  order  to  find  out  if  they  have  been  given 
to  him,  and  he  has  left  a  note  with  the  jewels,  beg 
ging  her  to  keep  them  as  a  sign  of  their  friendship, 
and  a  reminder  of  the  pleasant  hours  they  have  spent 
together.  A  most  unusual  and  gentlemanly  way  of 
looking  at  things,  I  must  say." 

"  Will  he  take  a  share  in  the  works  now?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Campbell. 

"  I  do  not  know.  He  is  going  abroad  as  soon 
as  he  has  rearranged  his  affairs.  He  said  he  would 
call  on  you  in  a  few  days." 

"  He  sent  us  some  lovely  flowers,"  said  Isabel. 

"  He  is  a  most  wasteful  man." 

"  He  sent  mother  and  me  pansies  in  a  lovely  bas 
ket  lined  with  moss;  they  were  to  say  for  him  he 


226  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

would  '  remember  '  us.  And  he  sent  Dora  the  same 
basket,  filled  with  white  hyacinths.  Oh,  how  sweet 
they  were !  " 

"  And  what  did  they  say?  " 

"  I  looked  for  their  meaning,  and  found  it  was 
'  unobtrusive  loveliness.'  You  see  Dora  rarely  came 
into  the  parlor,  when  he  called." 

"  That  may  be  so,  but  he  had  no  business  to  notice 
her  absence.  '  Unobtrusive  '  indeed,  and  '  loveli 
ness.'  Some  men  don't  know  when  they  go  too 
far." 

"  He  meant  all  in  kindness,"  said  Mrs.  Campbell, 
"  and  I  hope  he  will  call." 

Sir  Thomas  kept  his  promise.  Three  days  after 
Christina  had  so  mercilessly  jilted  him,  he  called 
on  her  mother  and  sister.  But  by  this  time  he  had 
taken  a  still  more  exalted  view  of  his  false  love's 
conduct.  He  told  Mrs.  Campbell,  that  it  was  not 
sympathy,  but  congratulations,  that  were  due  her. 
Was  she  not  the  proud  mother  of  a  noble  daughter, 
whom  neither  rank  nor  wealth  could  lure  from  the 
paths  of  truth  and  honor?  Of  a  daughter  who  held 
love  as  beyond  price,  and  who  would  not  wrong 
either  his  or  her  own  heart.  He  waxed  eloquent 
on  this  subject,  and  was  tearful  over  the  lost  treasure 
of  her  noble  daughter's  affection.  And  Mrs.  Camp 
bell  smiled  grimly,  and  wondered  "  if  he  really 
thought  she  was  silly  enough  to  believe  he  believed 
in  any  such  balderdash." 

Isabel  certainly  believed  in  him  with  all  her  heart, 
and  was  never  weary  of  his  chivalrous,  exalted  plati- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  227 

tudes;  and  like  all  men  in  love  trouble,  Sir  Thomas 
was  never  weary  of  talking  of  his  wounded  heart, 
and  lost  bride.  So  Isabel  quickly  became  his  favor 
ite  confidant.  She  listened  patiently  and  with  evi 
dent  interest;  she  helped  him  to  praise  Christina, 
and  when  he  got  to  wiping  his  eyes,  Isabel  was  ready 
to  weep  with  him. 

In  a  couple  of  weeks  he  began  to  talk  of  his  in 
tended  travel,  and  on  this  subject  Isabel  was  sin 
cerely  inquisitive  and  enthusiastic.  The  strongest 
desire  of  her  heart  was  to  travel  in  strange  coun 
tries,  and  she  asked  so  many  questions  about  the 
trip  Sir  Thomas  proposed  taking,  that  he  brought 
his  maps  and  guidebooks,  and  showed  her  his  route 
down  the  Mediterranean  to  Greece,  up  the  Adriatic 
to  Montenegro  and  Herzegovina,  over  the  Dalma 
tian  mountains,  through  Austria  and  Hungary  to 
Buda-Pesth,  northward  to  Prague,  Berlin,  and  Ham 
burg,  into  the  Baltic,  and  so  by  Zealand  and  the 
Skager  Rack  across  the  North  Sea  to  England  again. 
Oh,  what  a  heaven  it  opened  up  to  the  reserved, 
solitary  woman ! 

It  was  impossible  for  Isabel  to  hide  her  delight, 
and  so  when  this  trip  had  been  thoroughly  talked 
over,  he  came  one  wet  afternoon  with  the  books  and 
maps  explanatory  of  his  last  journey,  which  had  been 
altogether  on  the  American  continent.  He  showed 
her  where  he  had  hunted  big  game  in  the  forests 
of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  and  he  described  to 
her  the  old  cities  of  French  Canada.  Many  after 
noons  were  spent  in  talking  about  New  York,  Chi- 


228  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

cago,  St.  Louis,  San  Francisco,  and  the  wonders  of 
California,  Alaska,  and  Texas.  Finally,  he  carried 
her  to  Brazil  and  Cuba,  to  the  West  Indies  and 
to  the  beautiful  Bermudas. 

In  these  parlor  wanderings,  she  lived  a  life  far, 
far  apart  from  the  wet,  dull  streets  of  Glasgow, 
and  the  monotonous  ennui  and  strife  of  Traquair 
House;  besides  which  advantage,  both  Sir  Thomas 
and  herself  lost  in  such  pleasant  loiterings  the  first 
sore  pangs  of  their  bereaved  hearts.  For  obvious 
reasons,  both  Robert  and  Mrs.  Campbell  tolerated 
these — to  them — tiresome  recollections.  Robert 
considered  the  baronet  yet  as  a  possible  business  con 
tingent;  and  Mrs.  Campbell  silenced  all  doubtful 
sympathizers  with  remarks  about  his  friendship,  and 
his  constant  visits.  One  Sabbath  she  managed  affairs 
so  cleverly,  that  he  even  went  to  Dr.  Robertson's 
church,  sat  in  their  pew,  and  returned  home  to  dine 
with  them.  The  next  day  he  started  on  his  two 
years'  travel,  promising  to  write  Isabel  descriptions 
of  all  the  wonderfuls  he  saw. 

On  the  night  of  the  same  day,  Robert  called  to 
gether  the  women  of  his  household  and  in  the  blunt 
est  words  told  them  the  strictest  economy  was  hence 
forward  to  be  observed.  He  said  the  wastrie  of 
the  past  three  or  four  months  was  unbelievable,  and 
it  had  to  be  made  up  by  a  steady  curtailment  of  all 
household  expenses.  Then  turning  to  his  mother 
he  asked,  "  in  what  direction  she  thought  it  best 
to  begin?" 

She  answered  promptly :  "  You  are  right,  Robert. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  229 

The  expenses  of  the  house  have  been  very  extrava 
gant,  and  retrenchment  is  both  wise  and  necessary. 
I  think  in  the  first  place  we  ought  to  reduce  the 
number  of  servants.  One  man  can  be  spared  from 
the  stable,  and  the  second  man  in  the  house  is  not 
a  necessity.  McNab  must  do  with  one  kitchen  girl, 
instead  of  two;  and  your  son  no  longer  needs  a 
nurse.  A  boy  of  his  age  ought  to  wait  on  himself." 

"  David  has  not  needed  a  nurse  for  a  long  time." 

"Who  did  you  say?" 

"  David." 

"  I  ordered  you  not  to  call  the  boy  by  that  name, 
in  my  presence." 

"  It  is  his  baptismal  name.  He  has  no  other 
name." 

"  Call  him  Nebuchadnezzar,  or  Satan,  or  any 
name  you  like  in  your  own  room,  but  in  my  pres 
ence " 

"  His  name  is  always  David.  I  was  going  to 
remind  you  that  Ducie  has  been  a  general  servant 
in  the  house  for  many  months.  She  has  assisted 
your  chambermaid,  helped  McNab  in  the  kitchen, 
and  Jepson  about  the  table.  I  think  she  has  been 
the  most  effective  maid  in  the  house." 

"  She  may  have  been  chambermaid,  cook,  and 
butler  rolled  into  one,  but  she  is  not  wanted  here, 
and  the  sooner  she  finds  her  way  back  to  Kendal 
the  better  every  one  will  like  it." 

Then  Theodora  quietly  gathered  the  silks  with 
which  she  was  working,  and  without  noise  or  hurry 
left  the  room.  She  heard  her  mother-in-law's  scorn- 


230  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

ful  laugh,  and  her  husband's  angry  voice  as  she 
closed  the  door,  but  she  allowed  neither  to  detain 
her  in  an  atmosphere  so  highly  charged  with  hatred 
and  opposition. 

In  about  an  hour  Robert  strode  into  her  parlor, 
and  with  a  lowering  face  and  peevish  voice  asked: 
"  Why  did  you  go  away?  " 

"  There  was  no  further  reason  for  my  presence, 
and  more  than  one  reason  why  it  was  better  for  me 
to  go  away." 

"It  is  evident  you  feel  no  interest  in  the  cur 
tailment  of  my  expenses." 

"  I  am  sure  that  curtailment  is  not  necessary.  You 
gave  your  shareholders  a  dividend  of  ten-per-cent  a 
short  time  ago,  and  you  are  always  complaining  that 
the  business  is  too  large  for  you  to  carry  alone. 
And  I  do  not  see  that  there  is  the  smallest  curtail 
ment  in  your  personal  expenses." 

"  Pray  what  have  you  to  do  with  my  personal 
expenses  ?  " 

"  I  speak  of  them  because  I  personally  have  no 
expenses  from  which  to  draw  conclusions." 

"  I  suppose  you  have  as  many  personal  expenses 
as  any  other  woman.  My  mother  thinks  you  have 
more." 

"  Your  mother  grudges  me  the  little  food  I  eat. 
How  much  money  have  you  given  me  during  the 
six  years  I  have  been  your  wife?  " 

"  I  have  paid  all  your  bills." 

"What  kind  of  bills?" 

"  All  kinds." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  231 

"  No.  You  have  paid  for  a  physician  when  I 
was  sick — nothing  else.  I  have  bought  little  new 
clothing,  and  what  I  have  bought  I  paid  for." 

"  You  did  not  require  new  clothing." 

"  When  it  was  to  renew  and  alter,  I  paid  all 
expenses  with  my  own  money." 

"  You!  You  have  no  money!  All  the  money 
you  have  is  mine.  I  have  allowed  you  to  use  it  for 
your  personal  expenses.  Many  husbands  would  not 
have  done  so." 

"  It  was  my  money,  Robert.  I  made  it  before 
I  even  knew  your  name." 

"  It  was  all  my  money  the  moment  you  were  my 
wife." 

"  It  is  all  gone  now.  I  had  to  borrow  a  sovereign 
from  Ducie." 

"Good  gracious!  What  an  absurdity!  What 
did  you  want  with  a  sovereign?  You  have  credit 
in  half-a-dozen  shops." 

"  I  wanted  money,  not  credit.  I  cannot  buy 
stamps,  stationery,  music,  medicine,  and  many  other 
things  with  credit.  And  the  church  wants  cash 
always.  I  cannot  pay  church  dues  with  credit. 
When  I  borrowed  a  sovereign  from  Ducie  I  wanted 
a  prescription  of  Dr.  Fleming's  made  up." 

"  You  have  credit  at  Starkie's." 

"  Starkie  does  not  make  up  prescriptions.  I  had 
to  send  to  Eraser's  and  I  have  no  credit  at  Fraser's." 

Then  he  threw  a  sovereign  on  the  table  and  said: 
"  Pay  Ducie  at  once.  I  do  not  want  her  chattering 
all  over  Glasgow  and  Kendal." 


232  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  So  you  have  decided  to  send  Ducie  away?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  She  is  all  that  is  left  me  of  my  old  happy 
life.  Oh,  Robert,  Robert!  have  some  pity  on 
me." 

"  My  mother  and  sister  are  giving  up  three 
servants.  Surely  you  can  relinquish  one." 

"  It  is  Scot  in  the  stable,  who  gives  up  his  helper. 
It  is  Jepson  in  the  house,  it  is  McNab  in  the  kitchen. 
None  of  these  three  servants  affect  your  mother's 
and  sister's  comfort  in  the  least.  Ducie  is  every 
thing  to  David  and  myself.  She  keeps  our  rooms 
clean  and  comfortable,  brings  my  breakfast,  waits 
on  me  when  I  am  sick,  walks  out  with  David  when 
I  am  not  able  to  do  so,  and  in  many  other  ways 
makes  things  more  bearable.  I  beg  you,  Robert,  not 
to  send  her  away." 

"  Then  the  other  three  servants  must  also  re 
main." 

"  You  are  not  poor,  you  only  feel  poor  because  you 
spent  so  much  on  Christina." 

"  Who  was  a  wicked  failure,  and  mother  says 
you  were  the  prompter  of  her  sinful  conduct." 

"  Me  1  I  had  no  more  to  do  with  her  final  choice 
than  your  mother  had.  I  did  not  even  know  the 
name  of  the  man  she  married." 

"  But  you  talked  sentiment,  poetry,  honor,  and 
such  stuff  to  her." 

"  Never.  She  would  not  have  understood  me  if 
I  had." 

"  What  do  you  mean?  " 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  233 

"  What  I  say,  Christina  turned  sentiment,  poetry, 
honor,  and  such  stuff,  into  laughter.  She  saw  only 
one  side  of  any  person  or  thing — the  comic  side. 
If  she  could  mimic  you,  she  partly  understood  you; 
if  she  could  not  mimic  you,  then  you  were  uninter 
esting  and  unknowable.  But  Christina  was  as  kind 
to  me  as  she  could  be  to  any  one.  She  is  gone,  and 
I  have  no  friend  left  here." 

"Am  I  not  your  friend?" 

"  You  are  my  husband.  I  have  had  many  friends, 
none  of  them  were  the  least  like  you." 

"  A  poor  man  between  his  mother  and  his  wife 
is  in  a  desperate  fix." 

"  He  is,  because  he  has  no  business  to  be  in  such 
a  position.  It  is  an  unnatural  one — a  forbidden  one. 
Until  a  man  is  willing  to  give  up  his  mother,  he  has 
no  right  to  take  a  wife.  Under  all  conditions  it 
must  be  one  or  the  other;  the  two  existing  happily 
together  are  so  rare,  that  they  are  merely  exceptions 
that  prove  the  rule." 

"  It  would  have  been  very  hard  on  my  mother, 
had  I  given  her  up  for  a  wife." 

"  Yet  your  mother  took  her  husband  away  from 
his  mother,  and  so  backward  goes  it,  to  the  Eden 
days  of  every  race.  And  you  also  made  the  same 
mistake  that  Rebekah  told  Isaac  she  was  weary  of 
her  life  for — you  married  a  stranger,  and  because 
of  this,  she  is  continually  asking,  as  Rebekah  did, 
What  good  is  my  life  to  me  with  this  daughter  of 
Heth  under  my  roof?  And  also  she  has  made  our 
lives  of  no  good  to  us !  " 


234  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Is  it  not  my  duty  to  love  and  honor  my  mother? 
Is  it  not  right?" 

"  It  is  your  duty,  and  your  right  also,  to  love  and 
honor  the  wife  whom  you  have  persuaded  to  leave 
her  father  and  mother,  her  home  and  friends." 

"  Then  the  right  of  the  mother,  and  the  right  of 
the  wife,  are  both  positive?" 

"  So  positive  that  both  cannot  be  served  in  the 
same  place,  and  at  the  same  time;  for  the  one  right 
will  be  broken  to  pieces  against  the  other  right,  since 
there  is  no  community  of  feeling  between  the  family 
claim  of  the  mother  and  the  moral  and  natural  claim 
of  the  wife." 

"  Then  what  is  a  man  to  do?  " 

"  '  A  man  shall  leave  father  and  mother,  and 
cleave  unto  his  wife.'  That  is  the  imperative,  and 
ultimate  decision  of  the  God  and  Father  of  us  all. 
And  if  it  were  not  the  nearly  universal  rule,  what 
miserable,  loveless  children  would  be  born,  and  how 
the  jealous,  quarrelling  families  of  the  earth  would 
have  become  hateful  in  God's  sight.  We  have  only 
to  consider  our  own  case.  Until  your  mother  came 
between  us,  we  loved  each  other  truly,  and  were  very 
happy." 

"  A  man  with  a  big  business,  Dora,  has  something 
else  to  think  of  than  love." 

"In  his  hours  of  business,  yes;  but  in  his  hours 
of  relaxation,  his  love  ought  to  rest  and  refresh  him. 
There  was  a  movement  in  the  next  room,  and  Theo 
dora  went  there  with  light,  swift  steps.  Robert  was 
walking  moodily  up  and  down,  and  through  the 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  235 

open  door  he  saw  her  kneeling  by  a  large  chair,  and 
David's  arms  were  round  her  neck,  and  she  was  tell 
ing  him  he  must  now  go  to  bed.  "  Were  you  tired, 
that  you  fell  asleep  here?"  she  asked,  and  he  an 
swered:  "I  was  waiting  for  you,  mother,  to  hear 
my  prayer,  and  kiss  me  good-night;  and  the  sleep 
came  to  me." 

Then  she  sat  down,  and  David  knelt  at  her  knees, 
and  said  the  Lord's  prayer,  adding  to  it  a  petition 
for  blessing  on  his  father,  his  grandmother  Camp 
bell,  his  aunts  Isabel  and  Christina,  his  grandfather 
and  grandmother  Newton,  and  his  dear  mother,  with 
a  final  petition  that  God  would  love  David  and  make 
him  a  good  boy.  It  was  a  scene  so  sweet  and 
natural  that  Robert  stood  still  in  respect  to  the  simple 
rite,  vaguely  wondering  in  what  forgotten  life  he 
had  spoken  words  like  them. 

Then  Theodora  called  Ducie,  and  gave  the  child 
into  her  care,  but  as  he  was  leaving  the  room  he 
saw  his  father,  and  running  to  him,  he  said:  "  Father, 
kiss  David  too."  Robert's  heart  stirred  to  the  eager 
request,  and  he  lifted  the  little  lad  in  his  arms,  and 
actually  did  kiss  him.  In  that  moment  the  pretty 
face  with  its  glances  so  free,  so  bright,  so  seeking, 
without  guile  or  misgiving,  impressed  itself  on  Rob 
ert's  memory  forever.  Even  after  the  child  had 
gone  away,  he  felt  as  if  he  still  held  him,  and  the 
consciousness  of  the  soft,  rosy  cheek  against  his  own 
was  so  vivid  that  he  put  his  hand  up  and  stroked 
his  cheek  until  the  sensation  left  him. 

He  was  really  in  a  great  strait  of  feeling,  and, 


236  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

if  he  could  not  do  right  of  himself,  was  in  a  strait, 
out  of  which  there  was  no  other  decent  way.  He 
looked  longingly  at  Theodora,  who  had  resumed  her 
work,  and  her  pale,  passionless  face  touched  him  by 
its  complete  contrast  to  the  face  he  had  just  left — 
the  hard,  gossipy,  pitiless,  scornful  face  of  his 
mother.  He  could  not  forget  his  son's  prayer.  He 
knew  it  well,  he  himself  was  never  one  to  prompt, 
nor  to  correct,  so  it  was  certain  that  Theodora  had 
taught  the  boy  to  pray  for  those  who  constantly 
spoke  evil  of  her.  He  resolved  to  tell  his  mother 
of  this  incident,  and  again  he  tried  to  read  the  feel 
ing  on  his  wife's  face.  It  was  not  depression,  it 
was  not  sorrow,  it  was  far  from  anger,  there  was 
nothing  of  indifference  in  it,  and  nothing  restless  or 
uncertain.  He  did  not  understand  it.  How  could 
such  a  man  as  Robert  understand  a  life  of  pure  piety 
and  intelligence,  working  its  way  upward  through 
love  and  pain. 

He  sat  down  by  her  and  touched  her  hand,  but 
said  only  one  word:  "Theodora!  "  She  lifted  her 
sad,  lovely  eyes  to  his.  "  Theodora !  "  he  said  again, 
and  she  laid  her  hand  in  his,  and  whispered  "  Rob 
ert!"  Then  his  kiss  brought  back  the  color  to 
her  cheeks  and  the  light  to  her  eyes,  and  when  he 
vowed  that  he  loved  her  and  David  more  dearly 
than  any  other  mortals,  she  believed  him ;  and  found 
sweet  words  to  excuse  all  his  faults,  and  to  tell  him 
he  was  "  loved  with  all  her  heart." 

Was  she  a  foolish  woman  to  forgive  so  easily, 
and  so  much?  It  was  because  she  loved  so  much 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  237 

that  she  could  forgive  so  much,  and  of  such  loving, 
foolish  hearts  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  For  no 
love  is  so  swift  and  welcome  as  returning  love.  Even 
the  angels  desire  to  witness  the  reunion  of  hearts 
that  have  been  kept  apart  by  fault,  or  fate,  and  as 
for  Theodora,  she  had  the  courage  to  be  happy  in 
this  promise  of  better  days,  knowing  that  she  came 
not  to  this  house  by  accident,  but  that  it  was  the  very 
place  God  had  chosen  for  her.  Besides  which,  the 
heart  has  its  arguments  as  well  as  the  head,  and  at 
this  hour  she  was  judging  Robert  by  her  love,  and 
not  by  her  understanding. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE   LAST  STRAW 

FOR  a  few  days  Theodora  clung  tenaciously  to  her 
hope,  but  it  had  only  told  her  a  flattering  tale. 
Robert  had  gradually  fallen  below  the  plane — moral 
and  intellectual — on  which  his  wife  lived;  and  it  was 
only  by  a  painful  endeavor,  that  he  returned  to  the 
Robert  of  six  years  previously.  His  wife's  conver 
sation,  though  bright  and  clever,  was  not  as  pleasant 
to  him  as  his  mother's  biting  gossip  about  the  house 
and  the  callers;  and  he  could  assume  a  slippered, 
careless  toilet  in  her  presence,  that  made  him  un 
comfortable  when  at  the  side  of  the  always  prettily 
gowned  Theodora.  For  when  such  a  circumstance 
happened,  he  involuntarily  felt  compelled  to  apol 
ogize,  and  he  did  not  think  apologies  belonged  to 
his  position  as  master  of  the  house.  He  had  lost 
his  taste  for  music,  unless  there  was  some  stranger 
present  whom  he  desired  to  make  envious  or  aston 
ished;  in  fact  he  had  descended  to  that  common 
place  stage  of  love,  which  values  a  wife  or  a  mistress 
only  according  to  the  value  set  upon  her  by  out 
siders — by  their  envy  and  jealousy  of  himself,  as 
the  clever  winner  of  such  an  extraordinary  artist, 
or  beauty.  Consequently,  in  a  time  of  economy, 
forbidding  the  entertainment  of  strangers,  Theo- 

238 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  239 

dora's  hours  of  supremacy  were  likely  to  be  few 
and  far  between. 

But  this  fact  did  not  trouble  Robert.  He  came 
home  from  the  works  tired  of  the  business  world, 
and  the  household  chatter  of  his  mother  was  a  relief 
that  cost  him  no  surrender  of  any  kind.  Yet  had 
Theodora  attempted  the  same  role,  he  would  have 
seen  and  felt  at  once  its  malice  and  injustice,  and 
despised  her  for  destroying  his  ideals  and  illusions. 
Thus,  even  her  excellencies  were  against  her.  Again, 
Mrs.  Campbell  disguised  much  of  the  real  character 
of  her  abuse,  in  the  picturesqueness  of  the  Scotch 
patois;  nothing  she  said  in  this  form  sounded  as 
wicked  and  cruel  as  it  would  have  done  in  plain 
English.  But  this  disguise  would  have  been 
a  ridiculous  effort  in  Theodora,  and  could 
only  have  subjected  her  to  scorn  and  laugh 
ter;  while  it  was  native  to  her  enemy,  and 
a  vivid  and  graphic  vehicle  both  for  her  malice 
and  her  mockery. 

Thus,  when  Robert  was  rising  to  go  to  his  own 
parlor,  she  would  say:  "Smoke  another  cigar,  Rob 
ert,  or  light  your  pipe,  boy.  I  dinna  dislike  a  pipe, 
I  may  say  freely,  I  rather  fancy  it.  It  doesna  re 
mind  me  o'  the  stable,  and  I  have  no  nerves  to  be 
shocked  by  its  vulgarity.  God  be  thankit,  I  was  born 
before  nerves  were  in  fashion !  And  He  knows  that 
one  nervous  woman  in  a  house  is  mair  than  enou'. 
I  am  sorry  for  ye,  my  lad!  " 

"  It  is  not  Dora's  nerves,  mother;  it  is  her  refined 
taste.  She  thinks  a  pipe  low,  common,  plebeian, 


240  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

you  know,  and  for  the  same  reason  she  hates  me 
to  wear  a  cap — she  thinks  it  makes  me  look  like  a 
workingman.  Dora  is  quite  aristocratic,  you  know," 
and  he  mimicked  the  English  accent  and  idioms,  and 
saw  nothing  repellent  in  an  old  woman  giggling  at 
him. 

"  It  is  nerves,  my  lad,"  she  answered,  "  pure 
nerves,  and  nerves  are  a'  imagination.  Whenever 
did  I,  or  your  sisters,  or  any  o'  our  flesh  and  blood 
have  an  attack  o'  the  nerves?  Whenever  did  a 
decent  pipe  o'  tobacco,  or  the  smell  o'  a  good  salt 
herring  mak'  any  o'  us  sick  at  the  stomach?  Was 
there  ever  a  Campbell  made  vulgar,  or  low,  by  a 
cap  on  his  head?  'Deed  they  are  pretty  men  always, 
but  prettiest  of  a'  when  they  are  wearing  the  Glen- 
gary  wi'  a  sprig  o'  myrtle  in  the  front  o'  it.  Dod! 
it  makes  me  scunner  at  some  folks'  aristocracy.  I 
trow,  I  am  as  weel  born  as  any  Methodist  preacher's 
daughter,  and  I  have  kin  behind  me  and  around 
me  to  show  it;  but  you  can  smoke  a  pipe,  or  cap 
your  head,  or  slipper  your  feet,  and  my  fine  feelings 
willna  suffer  for  a  moment." 

"  You  are  mother — you  understand." 

"  To  be  sure  I  do.  Poor  lad,  ye  hae  lots  to  fret 
ye,  and  nane  need  a  pipe  o'  tobacco,  or  an  easy 
deshabille  mair  than  you  do;  if  you  are  understand 
ing  what  I  mean  by  deshabille — I'm  not  vera  sure 
mysel',  but  I'm  thinking  it  means  easy  fitting  clothes 
on  ye;  that  is  my  meaning  o'  the  word  anyhow,  and 
I  don't  care  a  bawbee,  whether  it  is  the  French 
meaning  or  not." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  241 

"  You  are  all  right,  mother.  You  generally  are 
all  right." 

"  I  am  always  all  right,  Robert;  and  that  you  find 
out  in  the  long  run,  don't  ye,  my  lad?  " 

Her  conversation  was  constantly  of  this  vulgar, 
commonplace  type,  but  it  carried  home  veiled  doubts 
and  innuendos,  as  no  other  form  could  have  done; 
and  it  was  homelike  and  familiar  to  Robert.  With 
it  as  the  vehicle  for  her  flattery  and  her  iron  will, 
she  managed  her  son  as  no  sensitive,  truthful,  honor 
able  woman  could  have  done,  unless  she  flung  deli 
cacy,  truth,  and  honor  aside,  and  went  down  into 
moral  slums  to  find  her  ways  and  weapons. 

On  the  fourth  evening  after  the  promising  recon 
ciliation,  Robert  said:  "I  want  a  whiff  of  strong 
tobacco,  Dora.  I  have  been  fretted  all  day,  so  I 
will  go  into  the  library  to  smoke  to-night." 

"  I  will  go  with  you,  Robert.  I  do  not  believe 
the  tobacco  will  make  me  sick.  You  know  when  it 

did  so,  there  were  reasons  why " 

'  You  must  do  nothing  of  the  kind,  Dora.  I 
cannot  have  you  made  ill,  and  the  fear  of  it  doing 
so  would  take  away  all  the  comfort  I  might  derive 
from  it." 

"  But,  Robert " 

"  No,  no!  I  shall  come  to  the  parlor,  and  smoke 
a  cigar,  if  you  insist." 

"  I  shall  not  insist.  You  will  not  stay  long  away 
from  me,  dear?  " 

11  When  my  smoke  is  finished,  I  will  come." 

Then  he  went  to  the  library,  and  in  a  few  minutes 


242  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

his  mother  followed  him  there.  As  housekeeper, 
she  had  formulated  less  extravagant  menus  for  the 
table,  and  some  other  small  economies,  and  their 
discussion  was  her  excellent  excuse — if  she  needed 
an  excuse,  which  she  rarely  did.  Among  these  econ 
omies,  the  dismissal  of  Ducie  came  to  question  again, 
and  Robert  said  he  "  thought  Ducie  would  have  to 
remain.  Dora  had  set  her  heart  on  keeping  her," 
he  continued,  "  and  I  think  it  will  also  be  more  com 
fortable  for  me,  mother." 

"  Nonsense !     It  will  not  affect  you  in  any  way." 

"  There  is  Dora's  breakfast,  who  is  to  carry  it 
upstairs  to  her?  " 

"  It  is  quite  time  that  nonsense  was  stopped !  Let 
the  high-stomached  English  '  my  lady  '  come  to  the 
family  breakfast  table.  It  is  good  enou'  for  the 
like  o'  her.  But  I'll  tell  you  how  it  is.  McNab 
has  the  habit  o'  humoring  her  wi'  dainties — mush 
rooms  on  toast,  a  few  chicken  livers,  and  the  like; 
and  our  decent  oatmeal,  and  bread  and  feesh,  arena 
as  delicate  as  food  should  be,  for  this  daughter  o' 
a  poor  Methodist  preacher." 

"  Come,  mother,  her  father  at  least  is  a  servant 
of  God,  one  of  His  messengers,  and  there  is  no  nobil 
ity  like  to  that  in  this  world.  You  know  well,  that 
Scotland  has  always  paid  more  honor  to  God's  serv 
ants,  than  to  the  servants  of  earthly  princes." 

"  Scotsmen  arena  infallible  in  their  religious  views. 
I  ken  one  thing  sure,  and  that  is  ministers'  daugh 
ters  hae  been  the  deil's  daughters  to  me,  and  to  my 
sons — vera  Eves  o'  temptation  wi'  the  apple  o'  sin 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  243 

and  misery  in  their  hands  for  my  two  bonnie 
lads." 

"  I  wonder,  mother,  where  my  brother  is." 

"  He  is  dead.  I  comfort  mysel'  wi'  that  thought. 
Death  was  the  best  thing  that  could  happen  him. 
The  poor  lad,  not  long  out  o'  his  teens,  and  tied  to 
a  wife,  and  to  the  wife's  mother  likewise.  Never 
was  a  finer  lad  flung  to  the  mischief  than  your 
brother  Da — nay,  my  tongue  willna  speak  his  name. 
Now  then,  remember  your  brother,  and  don't  let 
your  wife  ruin  you,  Robert." 

"  There  is  no  mother-in-law  in  my  case — it  is 
my  wife  that  has  the  mother-in-law,"  and  he  laughed 
in  a  grim,  self-satisfied  way. 

The  mother-in-law  in  question  was  not  offended, 
far  from  it;  she  laughed  too,  and  then  answered: 
u  Ay,  the  poor  lass  has  the  mother-in-law,  but  you 
hae  the  mother,  and  be  thankfu'  for  the  gift  and  the 
grace  o'  her.  Your  mother  willna  see  you  wronged, 
nor  put  upon.  She'll  back  you  up  in  a'  that  is  for 
your  authority  and  welfare.  She  will  that !  " 

"  Well,  well!    We  were  talking  of  Ducie." 

"  Ducie  is  the  backer-up  against  you,  and  she  be 
to  go  to  her  ain  folks  to-morrow.  That  is  what  I 
intend." 

"  I  do  not  believe  you  will  succeed  in  getting  rid 
of  her." 

"  If  you  will  leave  the  matter  entirely  to  me,  I 
will  rid  the  house  o'  her." 

With  this  question  unsettled  between  them,  it  was 
easy  to  make  trouble,  and  Robert  was  cowardly 


244  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

enough  to  leave  it  to  the  women,  though  he  knew 
well  that  a  few  decisive  words  from  himself  would 
put  an  end  to  the  dispute.  Mrs.  Campbell  was 
glad  he  did  not  say  them.  She  enjoyed  the  thought 
of  the  probable  fray,  and  only  waited  until  Robert 
had  gone  to  business  the  next  day  to  begin  it. 

"  Jepson,"  she  then  said,  "  you  will  tell  Ducie  to 
come  to  my  parlor  at  once." 

Ducie  was  expecting  this  call,  and  she  was  in  the 
mood  to  stand  upon  her  rights,  which  released  her 
from  all  obligations  to  obey  Mrs.  Traquair  Camp 
bell's  orders.  So  she  loitered  in  her  room  putting 
curls  over  her  brow,  in  the  way  they  were  peculiarly 
offensive  to  Mrs.  Campbell,  adding  to  this  saucy 
misdemeanor  earrings,  and  two  pink  bows,  a  ring 
on  her  engagement  finger,  an  embroidered  apron, 
and  slippers  with  rosettes  holding  a  small  imitation 
diamond  buckle.  Before  these  preparations  were 
quite  complete  there  was  another  very  peremptory 
message  for  her,  and  she  laughingly  told  Jepson  to 
inform  his  mistress,  that  she  "  hadn't  made  up  her 
mind  yet,  whether  she  would  call  on  her,  or  not." 

Jepson  toned  down  this  message  to  a  respectful 
apology  for  delay,  and  Mrs.  Campbell  was  on  the 
point  of  sending  another  order,  when  Ducie  entered 
her  room. 

"  I  sent  for  you  to  come  at  once.  Why  didn't 
you?" 

"  I  was  busy." 

"  What   were   you   doing?  " 

"  Dressing  myself." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  245 

"  You  have  dressed  yourself  like  a  fool." 

"  Please,  ma'am,  that  is  something  you  have 
nought  to  do  with.  My  mistress  told  me  how  to 
dress.  I  am  going  out  with  her  and  Master  David 
to  dinner." 

"  Where  are  you  going  to  dinner?  " 

"  I  was  not  bid  to  say  where." 

"  You  were  bid  not  to  tell  me." 

"  My  mistress  did  not  name  you." 

"  You  cannot  go  out.  You  will  help  McNab  in 
the  kitchen  until  two  o'clock." 

"  I  am  not  forced  to  do  anything  you  tell  me, 
ma'am,  and  I  don't  know  as  I  ever  will  again." 

"  You  are  a  lazy,  impudent  baggage." 

"  Now  then,  that  will  do,  ma'am.  You  are  the 
last  that  ought  to  speak  of  my  laziness,  for  I've  been 
working  for  you  three  months,  and  never  got  a  six 
pence,  or  a  penny  piece,  for  all  I  did.  Thanks,  I 
never  expected;  for  it's  only  black  words  you  keep 
by  you;  and  as  for  black  looks,  if  you  could  sell 
them  by  the  yard,  you  might  start  an  undertaking 
business." 

"  Do  you  know  who  you  are  talking  to?  " 

"  Yes,  but  I  don't  know  as  ever  I  talked  with  a 
worse  woman." 

"  I  will  make  you  suffer  for  your  impertinence." 

"  That's  likely,  for  you  hurt  people  out  of  pure 
wickedness." 

"Your  month  is  up  to-day  at  five  o'clock.  You 
will  help  McNab  until  two.  Then  you  will  pack 
your  trunk,  and  come  to  me  for  your  wage.  There 


246  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

is  a  train  for  Kendal  at  four  o'clock.  You  will 
take  it.  You  will  leave  this  house  at  half-past  three." 

"  It  caps  all  to  listen  to  you.  But  the  outside  of 
this  house  is  the  right  side  for  anybody  who  expects 
decent  treatment.  I  am  going  with  my  mistress  at 
half-past  eleven,  and  I  shall  come  back  here  with 
her,  when  she  returns.  And  thanks  be,  ma'am,  I 
am  not  going  to  Kendal.  I  am  going  to  be  married, 
and  teach  one  Glasgow  man  how  to  treat  a  wife." 

"  You  will  come  to  me  at  three  o'clock  for  your 
month's  wage." 

"  You  did  not  hire  me,  ma'am,  and  I  don't  take 
my  pay  from  you.  My  mistress  is  now  waiting  for 
me,"  and  with  these  words  she  turned  to  leave  the 
room. 

"  Ducie!  Ducie!     Come  here  instantly!  " 

But  Ducie  had  closed  the  door,  and  did  not  hear, 
at  least  she  did  not  answer.  Then  Mrs.  Campbell 
followed  her,  and  in  something  of  a  passion  assailed 
Theodora. 

"  That  impudent  wench  of  yours  has  been  behav 
ing  most  rudely  to  me,  Dora.  I  want  her  until  two 
o'clock,  can  you  not  make  her  obey  me?  " 

"  I  am  going  out  to  dinner,  and  need  her  very 
much.  She  has  to  take  charge  of  David." 

"  Leave  the  boy  at  home." 

"  I  cannot." 

"  Where  are  you  going?  " 

"  To  Mrs.  Oliphant's.  They  are  dining  early 
to-day,  and  I  shall  be  home  before  dark." 

"  That  will  be  too  late.     I  must  have  her  now." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  247 

"  I  cannot  make  her  work  for  you,  if  she  does 
not  wish."  Then  turning  to  Ducie  she  asked,  "  if  she 
would  not  obey  Mrs.  Campbell's  desire?  " 

"  No,  ma'am,"  was  the  straight  answer.  "  I 
would  not  lift  a  finger  for  Mrs.  Campbell." 

"  You  hear  what  she  says." 

"  She  has  talked  in  the  most  shameful  way  to  me. 
I  think  Jepson  must  have  left  the  whiskey  bottle 
around." 

"  Oh,  no !  Ducie  hates  whiskey.  She  would  not 
touch  it." 

"  Pay  her  what  you  owe  her,  and  send  her  off." 

"  I  have  no  money  to  pay  anything." 

"  I  will  lend  you  the  money." 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  discharge  her.  She  satisfies 
me  thoroughly.  I  see  no  reason  to  send  her  away." 

"  You  have  the  best  of  all  reasons — my  order  to 
do  so." 

"  I  will  ask  Robert  to-night." 

"  You  will  ask  Robert,  will  you?     So  shall  I." 

Then  Theodora  called  David,  and  the  little  lad 
came  running  to  her.  He  was  wearing  a  kilt  of 
the  Campbell  tartan,  a  small  philabeg,  a  black  velvet 
jacket  trimmed  with  gilt  buttons,  and  a  Glengary 
ornamented  with  an  eagle's  feather.  His  frank, 
beautiful  face,  his  strong  vitality,  and  his  pretty 
manners  were  instantly  notable,  for  when  he  saw  his 
grandmother  was  present,  he  lifted  his  cap  and  said: 
"  Good-fnorning,  grandmother."  She  did  not  an 
swer,  though  she  regarded  him  a  moment  with  a 
pride  she  could  not  conceal,  and  as  she  left  the  room 


248  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

she  told  herself:  "  The  boy  is  a  Scot,  in  spite  of  his 
English  dam.  He  is  a  Scot,  even  if  he  is  not  a 
Campbell,  and  please  God  we  will  mak'  him  a  Camp 
bell  yet." 

That  day  Theodora  met  at  Mrs.  Oliphant's  a 
gentleman  whom  she  had  seen  there  not  unfrequently 
during  the  winter,  an  American  called  Kennedy,  and 
a  very  sincere  friendship  had  grown  up  between 
them.  After  an  early  dinner  he  asked  permission  to 
take  David  to  a  circus  then  in  Glasgow,  and  the 
boy's  entreaties  being  added,  Theodora  could  not 
resist  them.  They  went  off  in  a  hurry  of  delight,  and 
finding  herself  alone  with  Mrs.  Oliphant,  the  long, 
carefully  hidden  sorrows  of  her  heart  burst  forth  in 
a  flood  that  bore  away  all  pride,  all  restraint,  and  all 
the  jealously  kept  barriers  of  a  long  reticence  and 
concealment. 

How  it  happened  she  never  knew,  but  with  pas 
sionate  weeping  she  told  her  friend  all  the  miseries 
of  her  daily  life,  and  the  greater  olread  that  black 
ened  and  haunted  her  future — the  terror  lest  David 
should  be  taken  from  her,  and  sent  to  some  severe, 
disciplinary  boarding-school.  Weeping  in  each 
other's  arms,  the  confession  and  consolation  went  on, 
until  Margaret  Oliphant  dared  to  say  the  words 
Theodora  feared  to  utter. 

"  You  must  take  your  child,  and  go  where  Robert 
Campbell  will  never  find  you,  until  David  is  a  man, 
and  able  to  defend  himself." 

"  Thank  you,  Margaret.  I  have  been  longing  to 
tell  you  that  I  see  no  other  conclusion.  But  where 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  249 

shall  I  go?  India,  Australia,  Canada,  are  all  gov 
erned  by  English  laws,  and  so  then,  anywhere  in 
these  countries,  David  could  be  taken  from  me,  and 
my  husband  could  force  me  to  return  to  his  home. 
So  much  I  have  learned,  from  similar  cases  to  mine, 
reported  in  the  newspapers." 

"  You  must  go  to  the  United  States.  There,  you 
may  work  and  enjoy  the  money  you  earn;  no  hus 
band  can  take  it  from  you.  There,  you  cannot 
be  forced  to  live  with  a  husband  who  treats  you 
cruelly,  and  I  am  sure  no  court  would  allow  a  child 
of  tender  age  to  be  taken  from  a  mother  so  properly 
fitted  to  bring  him  up.  You  must  have  a  talk  with 
Mr.  Kennedy.  He  can  help  you.  He  will  be  glad 
to  help  you." 

"  I  thought  he  had  business  here." 

"  He  has  business  he  thinks  of  great  importance. 
His  wife  is  dead,  and  he  brought  her  two  daughters 
to  a  school  she  remembered  in  Edinburgh,  but  not 
being  sure  his  children  would  be  happy  there,  he  is 
staying  to  watch  over  them." 

"  Are  they  happy?  " 

"  No.  He  is  going  to  take  them  home  again, 
when  the  school  closes  in  June — perhaps  before." 

"Then,  Margaret?" 

"Then  you  could  go  with  him?" 

They  went  over  and  over  this  plan,  constantly 
evolving  new  fears  and  new  advantages,  and  were 
yet  in  the  fever  of  the  discussion,  when  Mr.  Ken 
nedy  and  David  returned.  It  was  both  David's  and 
Ducie's  first  visit  to  a  circus,  and  after  a  few  minutes' 


250  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

rapturous  description,  they  were  permitted  to  go  to 
another  room  and  talk  over  the  enchanting  scenes. 

Then  Mrs.  Oliphant  said:  "  Come  now,  David 
Campbell,  and  tell  your  sister  Theodora  how  heart 
ily  you  are  at  her  service."  And  the  supposed  Mr. 
Kennedy  took  Theodora's  hands,  and  said:  "My 
dear  sister.  I  have  known  all  your  sad  life  for  the 
last  half-year.  I  am  here  to  help  you." 

But  Theodora  looked  amazed  and  even  troubled, 
and  he  sat  down  at  her  side  and  continued:  "  I  am 
really  David  Campbell,  your  husband's  elder  brother. 
I  am  also  the  foster-son  of  Mrs.  McNab,  and  I  have 
heard  all  from  her,  and  have  been  waiting  here, 
knowing  that  the  end  to  a  life  so  unhappy  must  come, 
and  wondering  that  you  have  borne  it  so  long." 

Then  Theodora  remembered  that  she  had  heard 
from  Ducie,  that  McNab  had  a  son  come  home  from 
foreign  parts,  and  that  he  took  her  out  frequently, 
and  gave  her  many  presents.  And  she  looked  into 
her  brother-in-law's  face  for  some  trace  of  his  re 
lationship,  but  could  find  none.  David  Campbell 
was  more  Celt  than  Gael,  he  was  tall  and  slender, 
had  a  gentle  voice  and  a  manner  that  could  only 
come  from  a  good  heart.  His  whole  appearance 
was  aquiline  and  American,  and  he  was  dressed  in 
the  loose,  easy  style  of  a  citizen  of  the  great  Western 
Republic.  After  a  most  critical  survey,  Theodora 
was  ready  to  confess,  that  his  visits  to  McNab  were 
perfectly  safe  from  detection. 

"  I  have  sat  with  the  servants  in  the  kitchen,  have 
eaten  with  them,  and  heard  all  they  could  tell  me 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  251 

of  your  life,  Theodora ;  and  now  I  am  at  your  service 
with  all  my  heart." 

"  Then  tell  me  what  to  do." 

"  First,  let  me  go  and  see  your  father  and  mother. 
Your  father  will  give  us  good  advice,  and  we  will 
not  move  till  we  get  it — unless  some  desperate  cause 
intervenes." 

"  Thank  you.     That  is  what  I  wish." 

"  Give  me  their  address." 

"  I  am  sorry " 

"  Say  nothing,  I  entreat  you !  I  have  no  other 
duty  in  Glasgow,  but  to  look  after  you,  and  my 
splendid  little  namesake.  And  I  assure  you,  if  I 
saw  any  other  way  of  bringing  my  dear  brother  to 
his  senses,  I  would  try  it  first.  But  not  until  Robert 
has  lost  you,  will  he  find  out  what  you  really  are 
to  him." 

"  Have  you  seen  your  brother?  " 

"  Many  a  time.  I  have  even  spoken  to  him,  but 
he  has  no  recollection  of  me.  He  cannot,  for  he 
seldom  saw  me.  I  should  not  have  known  him  if 
I  had  met  him  anywhere  but  in  the  Campbell  iron 
works.  He  is  a  hard  master  to  his  men." 

"  But  there  is  another  Robert,  I  assure  you,  a 
Robert  I  only  know — or  used  to  know.  He  was  a 
noble,  generous  man,  a  man  I  loved  with  all  my 
soul." 

"  I  believe  you,  and  that  lost  Robert  only  wants 
proper  surroundings  to  give  him  a  chance.  See! 
We  are  going  to  educate  that  other  Robert.  I  love 
my  brother,  Theodora,  and  we  will  work  together 


252  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

to  make  him  happy  in  spite  of  himself,  and  the  other 
evil  powers  that  now  hold  him  in  thrall." 

"  O,  thank  you !  Thank  you,  David !  I  never 
had  a  brother,  but  have  often  longed  for  one.  You 
are  a  true  Godsend  to  me." 

"  With  God's  help  I  will  be !  Your  father's  home 
is  in  Bradford?" 

'  Yes,  he  lives  in  Hanover  Square,  Bradford. 
Any  one  will  tell  you  where  the  Rev.  John  Newton 
lives." 

"  I  will  leave  by  to-night's  train.  I  will  tell  them 
all — for  McNab  has  told  me  all — and  your  father 
will  send  his  advice  back  by  me." 

With  this  comfort  in  her  heart  Theodora  did  not 
feel  afraid,  though  she  had  stayed  until  the  night 
had  fallen.  Mr.  Oliphant  took  her  home  in  his 
carriage,  and  Robert  was  compelled  to  thank  him 
for  his  courtesy;  but  he  followed  his  wife  into  their 
parlor  with  a  dark  countenance,  and  asked  her  an 
grily,  "  why  she  put  herself  under  obligations  to 
people  like  the  Oliphants?" 

"  Are  there  any  objections  to  the  Oliphants?  "  she 
asked. 

"  My  mother  has  never  trusted  them,  never.  And 
you  know  this." 

"  Your  mother  trusts  no  one." 

"Where  is  Ducie?" 

"  She  is  attending  to  David's  supper." 

"Call  her!" 

"Will  not  a  little  later  do?" 

"  No,  I  want  her  now." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  253 

"  Ring  the  bell,  then." 

He  looked  astonished  at  the  order,  but  he  obeyed 
it.  Theodora  had  sat  down.  Her  face  was  sad 
and  stern,  and  her  eyes  flashed  so  angrily  he  did  not 
care  to  encounter  them. 

In  a  few  minutes  Ducie  appeared.  She  came  in 
smiling  and  curtsied  to  her  master  when  he  said: 

"Ducie?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  You  were  told  to  leave  this  house  forever,  at 
half-past  three  this  afternoon.  Why  have  you  not 
done  so?  " 

''  The  party  who  told  me  was  not  my  mistress." 

"Am  I  your  master?" 

"  I  suppose  so." 

"  Then  listen  to  me.  Here  is  your  quarter's  wage. 
As  you  are  a  young  girl,  I  will  not  send  you  to  the 
street  now  that  it  is  dark.  You  may  stay  until  eight 
o'clock  to-morrow  morning.  Then  you  will  go." 

"  I  shall  go  to-night,  sir.  I  will  not  take  a  favor 
from  you,  though  I  have  done  this  house  many 
favors." 

"  Robert,  Robert !  "  cried  Theodora,  "  consider 
what  you  are  doing.  Ducie,  do  not  go  away  yet — 
for  David's  sake — let  me  keep  Ducie,  Robert." 

"  David  will  go  to  school  in  the  autumn.  He 
wants  no  nurse." 

"  Then  let  her  stop  until  autumn.  Robert,  dear 
Robert,  I  entreat  you  that  I  may  keep  Ducie." 

"  After  her  impertinence  to  my  mother,  it  is  im 
possible.  You  ought  to  feel  that." 


254  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Oh  dear,  oh  dear! "  Theodora  covered  her 
face  with  her  hands,  and  burst  into  passionate  weep 
ing. 

Immediately  Ducie  was  at  her  side  comforting  her. 
"  Don't,  ma'am.  Please  don't  cry.  Ducie  knows  it 
is  not  your  fault." 

Then  Theodora  unfastened  the  brooch  at  her 
throat  and  drew  a  ring  from  her  finger. 

"  Take  them,  dear,"  she  said.  "  We  ought 
to  pay  you  for  three  months'  extra  work,  but  I  have 
no  money.  You  know  that,  Ducie.  Take  these  in 
stead.  Keep  them  for  my  sake,  dear.  Oh  Ducie, 
Ducie!  you  are  my  only  friend  here,  and  they  are 
sending  you  away.  My  God,  my  dear  God,  have 
pity  on  me !  " 

She  spoke  rapidly  in  a  transport  of  sorrowful  feel 
ing;  she  forced  the  trinkets  into  Ducie's  hand,  and 
walking  with  her  to  the  door,  kissed  her  there;  then 
sobbing  like  a  little  child,  she  fell  upon  the  sofa  in 
hopeless  distress. 

"  What  folly!  "  cried  Robert.  "  Who  would  be 
lieve  all  this  fuss  was  about  a  common  servant  girl 
— a  disobedient,  insolent  servant  girl.  Why  did  she 
not  obey  my  mother's  order?  " 

Then  Theodora  rose  to  her  feet.  She  put 
tears  away,  and  answered  proudly:  "Because 
I  was  her  mistress,  and  I  told  her  to  come  with 


me." 


"You  told  her  to  disobey  my  mother?" 
"  Yes.      Your  mother  dismissed  her  without  my 
permission.       Suppose   I   had  called  your  mother's 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  255 

chambermaid,  and  ordered  her  to  leave  the  house 
— the  cases  are  precisely  the  same." 

"  Not  at  all;  mother  is  mistress  and  housekeeper. 
When  she  ordered  Ducie  to  leave,  that  was  quite 
sufficient." 

"  Do  you  expect  me  to  obey  your  mother's  or 
ders?" 

"  I  obey  her  orders." 

"  If  they  were  kind  and  just  orders,  I  would  do 
all  I  could  to  meet  them;  when  they  are  unjust  and 
tyrannical,  I  will  not  obey  them.  I  will  be  a  partner 
in  none  of  her  sins  and  cruelties;  I  know  a  better 
way,  if  she  does  not.  And  I  must  have  a  maid, 
Robert." 

"  I  will  tell  mother  to  hire  one  for  you.  But 
we  shall  have  no  more  English  girls,  so  do  not  expect 
what  you  will  not  get." 

"  Would  any  English  girl  want  to  come  to  Glas 
gow,  for  the  sake  of  Glasgow?  That  is  a  difficult 
thing  to  imagine." 

"  And  I  do  not  approve  of  you  giving  valuable 
jewelry  away." 

"  It  was  my  very  own.  I  had  it  long  before  I 
saw  you." 

"  It  was  scandalous  of  Ducie  to  accept  it.  She 
ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  carry  it  away.  You  were 
not  responsible  when  you  gave  it." 

"  And  if  it  is  scandalous  for  Ducie,  my  friend,  to 
take  a  gift  of  my  jewelry  from  my  hands,  what 
about  the  Campbelton  women,  who  broke  open  my 
trunk,  and  took  out  of  its  case  my  class  ring  of  dia- 


256  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

monds  and  sapphires,  worth  eighty  pounds;  a  ring 
my  class  paid  for,  and  gave  me.  You  promised  me 
it  should  be  returned.  It  never  has  been.  Do  you 
pretend  that  ring  was  yours?  And  is  everything  I 
possess  yours  ?  And  do  you  permit  your  kindred  to 
help  themselves  to  whatever  of  mine  they  choose  to 
appropriate?  " 

"  You  possess  nothing — the  hair  on  your  head  is 
mine.  I  can  sell  it  if  I  choose.  Your  wedding  ring 
is  mine." 

"  I  believe  nothing  of  the  kind.      It  is  incredible." 

"  It  is  the  law  of  England." 

"  You  ought  to  have  told  me  those  things  before 
I  was  married.  I  was  beguiled  into  slavery.  Why 
are  girls  in  school  not  taught  such  things,  if,  indeed, 
they  are  true?  " 

"  It  is  the  law  of  England.  Any  lawyer  will  tell 
you  so." 

"  Then  it  is  contrary  to  the  law  of  the  Holy  and 
Just  One,  and  I  will  never  acknowledge  its  right. 
I  say,  and  shall  always  say,  my  class  ring  was  stolen ; 
and  that  the  person  who  took  it  was,  and  is,  a  thief. 
The  law  may  give  you  my  clothing  and  ornaments, 
and  your  mother,  assuming  your  things  to  be  hers, 
may  give  them  away;  and  you  may  call  it  lawful, 
but  justice  and  equity  would  soon  dispose  of  that 
legal  fiction.  I  shall  always  deny  it.  To  falter  in 
doing  so,  would  be  sin." 

In  uttering  these  words  she  became  a  Theodora 
he  had  never  before  seen.  Her  beauty  was  trium 
phant  over  both  her  anger  and  her  sorrow.  Her 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  257 

splendid  eyes  stabbed  him  with  their  scornful  glances ; 
her  air  and  attitude  was  regal  as  that  of  Justice  her 
self,  and  her  words  went  home  like  javelins.  Men 
tally  and  spiritually,  he  cowered  before  her. 

So  he  took  out  his  watch  and  said:  "Dinner  is 
served." 

"  I  want  no  dinner." 

He  answered,  "  Very  well,"  but  there  was  the  look 
in  his  eyes  of  a  man  who  knows  he  is  defrauding 
his  own  soul.  And  though  at  that  moment  he  un 
derstood  his  mother's  hatred  of  her,  and  believed 
that  he  himself  hated  her,  yet  even  then,  at  the  root 
of  his  hate,  there  lay  a  secret,  ardent  thirst  for  her 
love. 


CHAPTER  X 

THEODORA  MAKES  A  NEW  LIFE 

IT  is  not  by  grand  or  romantic  events,  that  life  is 
usually  shaped;  the  most  trivial  things  are  the  min 
isters  of  Destiny,  but  no  matter  how  insignificant 
they  may  appear,  they  bring  with  them  a  sense  of 
fatality  not  to  be  put  away.  When  the  great  drama 
tist  would  make  Othello  murder  Desdemona,  he  did 
not  choose  as  a  cause  the  loss  of  some  priceless  neck 
lace,  or  a  diamond  ornament,  he  knew  intuitively 
that  such  a  simple  thing  as  a  pocket  handkerchief 
would  be  more  natural. 

So  in  Theodora's  case,  the  everyday  occurrence 
of  a  quarrel  with  a  servant  girl  was  the  culmination 
of  years  full  of  far  more  cogent  reasons,  for  her 
final  decision  to  abandon  a  life  which  she  was  unable 
to  manage.  But  when  Robert  went  to  his  dinner, 
and  left  her  alone  to  struggle  with  a  defeat  and 
a  loss  she  felt  so  keenly  she  came  to  this  positive 
conclusion.  In  that  hour  her  life  was  brought  to 
the  fine  point  of  a  single  word.  "  Yes  "  or  "  No," 
which  was  it  to  be?  Would  she  accept  for  herself 
and  her  child  the  wretched  life  she  had  unknowingly 
chosen?  Or,  would  she  abandon  it,  and  seek  some 
happier  environment?  And  after  half-an-hour's  in 
tense  thought  and  feeling,  she  stood  erect,  and,  clasp- 

258 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  259 

ing  her  hands,  uttered  an  emphatic  "  Yes !  "  Even 
at  that  hour,  her  messenger  was  on  his  way  to  con 
sult  her  parents,  and  she  had  little  doubt  as  to  their 
decision.  She  believed  they  would  bid  her  "  Go  in 
God's  name  ";  and  fortified  by  that  order,  she  would 
follow  the  advice  David  Campbell  gave  her.  He 
knew  the  United  States  well,  and  it  was  a  wonderful 
thing,  he  should  have  come  home  in  this  time  of 
her  trouble.  Surely  he  had  been  sent  for  her  help 
and  direction. 

She  expected  no  word  from  her  parents  for  about 
four  days,  but  a  ray  of  hope  had  penetrated  the 
gloom  of  her  surroundings;  and  wrong  and  unkind- 
ness  took  on  a  transient  character.  They  were  now 
merely  passing  annoyances,  she  would  have  gone  be 
yond  their  power  in  a  few  weeks  at  the  most.  She 
resolved  to  make  no  more  efforts  to  obtain  justice, 
no  more  efforts  to  win  a  man  whom  neither  love  nor 
entreaties  could  prevent  acting  after  his  kind.  She 
would  now  permit  him  to  lay  up  grievances,  with 
which  to  wound  himself  when  he  could  no  longer 
wound  her.  A  sense  of  peace,  coming  from  her 
acceptance  of  destiny,  gave  to  her  a  singular  calm 
ness  of  manner  and  countenance,  and  a  renewed  alert 
ness  of  mind,  and  mental  lucidity. 

In  the  morning  Ducie,  wearing  her  hat  and  cloak, 
served  her  late  mistress  and  little  David  with  their 
breakfast;  then  the  three  parted  forever.  David 
cried  bitterly;  the  women  had  no  tears  left.  In 
half-an-hour  McNab  came  to  remove  the  tray. 

"  I  would  leave  your  room  as  it  is,  ma'am,"  she 


260  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

said.  "  It  will  be  seen  to.  Tak'  my  advice,  and 
dinna  lift  a  finger  to  it.  YourseF  and  Master  David 
will  be  getting  your  breakfast  ten  minutes  earlier, 
for  I  am  going  to  look  after  that  bit  business  mysel'. 
You  needna  fret  a  moment  anent  the  matter.  It's 
settled." 

"I  do  not  intend  to  fret  about  anything,  Mc- 
Nab." 

"  That's  right.  It  is  a  lang  lane  that  has  no  turn 
ing.  You  are  coming  to  the  turning,  I  think." 

"  I  think  so." 

"  But  I  wouldn't  let  on  I  saw  it." 

"  Neither  by  look,  nor  word." 

"  That's  right,  too.  If  wanted,  call  McNab,  but 
be  sparing  o'  calls — there  is  both  watcher  and  list 
ener.  I'm  telling  you." 

"  I  know." 

Theodora  smiled  understandingly,  and  McNab 
left  the  room,  but  left  behind  her  a  strong  sense  of 
guardianship  and  love.  Yet  just  then  McNab  was 
rather  in  the  dark,  for  her  foster-son  had  not  had 
time  to  tell  her  of  his  journey  to  Yorkshire.  But 
uncertainty  did  not  dash  McNab,  she  had  one  of 
those  blessed  dispositions  that  are  always  sure  no 
news  is  good  news;  and  who  always  expect  the 
"  something  "  that  may  have  happened,  to  be  some 
thing  wonderfully  auspicious. 

"  Perhaps  my  lad  had  a  word  with  her  yesterday," 
she  thought,  "  and  perhaps  he  is  making  a  move — 
for  he  wouldn't  move  without  her  word.  I  dare 
say  that  is  just  wkat  has  happened."  She  satisfied 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  261 

herself  with  this  belief,  and  to  the  hopeful  and  cheer 
ful,  good  angels  send  their  heart's  desire. 

So  Theodora  sat  still  and  let  the  house  go  on. 
Not  until  she  was  dressing  for  dinner  did  a  maid 
come  to  attend  to  her  rooms,  but  she  made  no  re 
mark.  A  short  time  afterwards,  the  girl  returned 
with  a  letter  and  the  information,  that  it  had  been 
opened  by  Mrs.  Campbell  through  mistake.  It  was 
from  Theodora's  publisher,  and  purported  to  contain 
a  check  for  seventy  pounds  and  fifteen  shillings  for 
royalties  due  her.  But  the  check  was  not  in  the 
letter.  Her  heart  beat  wildly,  her  cheeks  burned, 
she  rose  as  if  to  go  and  inquire  for  it;  but  on  second 
thoughts  she  sat  down  and  waited  until  Robert  came 
into  the  room.  Then  she  showed  him  the  letter. 
He  barely  glanced  at  it,  then  threw  it  on  the  table. 

"  Will  you  ask  your  mother  for  my  money, 
Robert?  I  want  to  buy  David  and  myself  some 
necessary  clothing." 

"  I  have  the  check." 

"  Give  it  to  me,  Robert.      I  need  it  so  much." 

"  I  put  it  in  my  pocket-book,  because  it  is  mine. 
I  give  it  to  you,  because  I  choose  to  give  it  to  you. 
Most  husbands  would  not  do  so." 

"  You  need  not  at  every  opportunity  tell  me  that 
I  have  no  rights,  and  no  money,  even  if  I  myself 
have  earned  the  money.  One  telling  of  such  awful 
injustice  is  enough.  I  wish  to  know  if  my  letters 
are  also  yours?  " 

"  If  I  choose  to  claim  them,  they  are  mine." 

"  Are  they  also  free  to  your  mother?  " 


262  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  If  I  choose  to  make  them  so." 

"  Then  I  will  do  without  letters." 
4  You  can  please  yourself." 

She  did  not  answer,  and  he  went  into  the  dining- 
room.  In  a  short  time  she  steadied  herself  suffi 
ciently  to  follow  him,  but  no  one  but  Isabel  took 
the  slightest  notice  of  her.  Mrs.  Campbell  was  in 
high  spirits,  and  talked  with  her  son  in  a  jocular 
way  about  some  event  of  which  Theodora  was  igno 
rant.  Jepson  watched  her  plate  and  saw  that  she 
was  attended  to,  and  Isabel  showed  her  disapproval 
of  her  mother's  and  brother's  behavior  by  a  sullen 
silence.  For  she  was  slow-minded,  and  could  think 
of  no  way  to  express  her  sympathy  with  Theodora, 
except  sulking  at  those  who  were  annoying  her.  But 
she  rose  from  the  table  when  Theodora  rose,  and 
when  Theodora  said  "  Good-night,  Isabel,"  she  an 
swered:  "  I  should  like  to  come  into  your  parlor  for 
a  few  minutes — if  agreeable." 

"  You  are  very  welcome,  Isabel." 

"  Thank  you.  I  only  wanted  to  say,  that  I  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  opening  of  your  letter.  I 
would  no  more  open  your  letter,  than  I  would  pick 
your  pocket." 

"  I  am  sure  of  that,  Isabel.  I  wish  you  were  my 
friend.  I  am  very  lonely  since  Christina  went  away. 
Have  you  heard  from  her?  " 

"  Not  one  word.  I  am  very  lonely  too.  Good 
night." 

And  Theodora  thought  until  sleep  came  of  the 
girl's  sad  face,  and  pitied  her  more  than  she  pitied 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  263 

herself.  For  hope  was  building  a  new  life  in  her 
heart,  and  she  looked  forward  to  a  future,  that  in 
its  freedom,  beauty,  and  usefulness  would  atone  for 
the  present,  and  the  past  years  of  her  married  life; 
but,  oh  the  sameness,  and  ennui,  and  moral  and 
mental  death  of  a  life  without  aim  or  purpose,  with 
out  love  or  expectations,  or  sensible  work  to  do. 

Early  on  the  fourth  day  Mrs.  Oliphant  called, 
and  brought  Theodora  a  letter.  She  professedly 
came  to  ask  Theodora  to  drive  with  her,  and  when 
her  invitation  was  declined,  did  not  remain  many 
minutes.  But  Mrs.  Campbell  watched  her  coming 
and  going,  and  made  plenty  of  sarcastic  remarks 
about  both  the  lady  and  her  dress,  her  carriage  and 
her  horses  and  servants.  Isabel  was  scarcely  con 
scious  of  them.  Since  the  loss  of  her  sister  she  had 
become  still  more  severe,  intense,  and  reticent;  besides 
which,  though  no  one  suspected  the  movement,  Isa 
bel  was  considering  a  break  in  social  custom,  un 
dreamed  of  by  the  severely  proper  maidens  of  her 
set. 

It  related  to  Sir  Thomas  Wynton.  She  had  had 
a  letter  from  him  describing  his  journey  to  Paris,  and 
his  present  life  in  that  city,  and  he  had  asked  Isabel 
to  write  him  "  all  the  news  she  could  gather  about 
Wynton  village,  and  their  friends  in  Glasgow,  and 
to  add  also  anything  social,  political,  or  religious 
she  thought  would  interest  him."  And  this  request 
had  opened  up  a  pleasant  prospect  of  collecting  and 
arranging  all  the  news  she  could  glean  from  people, 
or  from  newspapers,  and  then  writing  the  result  to 


264  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

Sir  Thomas.  It  was  a  wild,  a  daring  thing  for 
Isabel  Campbell  to  attempt,  but  she  had  resolved  to 
ask  no  one's  advice  about  the  right  or  the  wrong  of 
it.  She  would  decide  the  matter  for  herself,  and 
she  was  trying  to  do  so  while  her  mother  was  mock 
ing  at  Mrs.  Oliphant's  dress  and  general  appear 
ance. 

Meantime  Theodora  watched  her  friend  away, 
and  then  went  into  her  parlor,  locking  the  door  after 
closing  it.  David  was  busy  with  his  slate  and  pencil 
in  the  music  room,  and  she  locked  the  door  of  that 
room  also.  Then  she  sat  down  with  her  letter  in 
her  hand,  and  after  a  moment's  uplifting  of  her 
heart,  she  opened  it  and  read  the  following  words: 

"Mv  DEAR  THEODORA: — Your  mother  and  I 
have  thoroughly  considered  all  your  good  brother-in- 
law  has  told  us.  I  will  not  dwell  on  our  surprise 
and  sorrow.  I  will  but  say,  that  you  ought  to  put  an 
end  at  once  to  a  life  which  is  dwarfing  you  on  every 
side,  and  must  be  fast  ruining  your  husband's  better 
nature.  For  the  cruelty  and  injustice  done  at  first 
reluctantly  has  evidently  become  to  him  a  necessary 
alternative  to  the  dreariness  of  his  business  life.  As 
some  men  find  amusement  in  badgering  and  baiting 
animals,  he  apparently  satisfies  the  same  brutal  in 
stinct  by  baiting  a  wife  whom  our  cruel  laws  has 
placed  in  his  absolute  power.  I  counsel  you  to 
leave  him  before  conditions  are  worse,  and  some 
tragedy  results.  Take  David  Campbell's  advice  as 
to  the  locality  where  you  may  dwell  in  peace  and 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  265 

safety.  I  approve  what  he  has  proposed  to  us  so 
entirely,  that  whenever  you  are  ready  to  move,  your 
mother  and  I  will  go  with  you,  though  it  should  be 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Think  a  moment,  and  you 
will  understand  that  you  must  go  with  us,  and  not 
with  your  brother-in-law.  I  shall  write  to  the  Chair 
man  of  Conference  to-day  and  resign  my  pastorate, 
and  you  know  a  Methodist  preacher  and  his  wife 
can  move  almost  at  a  day's  notice.  Our  clothing 
is  all  we  personally  own.  My  future  is  prepared 
for.  There  is  nothing  to  fear.  The  Great  Com 
panion  will  go  with  us.  Wherever  your  new  home 
is  made,  our  home  will  be  made,  and  we  will  pray 
together  for  the  man  you  still  love.  He  will  return 
to  you  "  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind."  Do  not 
doubt.  Go  away  and  rest  your  aching  heart.  Has 
the  sun  of  your  love  set?  Some  blessing  lies  in 
the  night;  do  not  fear  the  darkness.  Rest,  and  the 
sun  of  love  will  rise  again.  I  append  a  few  reasons 
why  you  should  at  this  crisis  leave  your  husband. 
If  you  are  fully  satisfied  in  your  own  mind,  you  can 
neglect  them. 

"  i  st.  Habit  reconciles  us  to  much  suffering,  but 
a  miserable  marriage  is  a  trial  no  one  has  any  busi 
ness  to  have.  It  is  without  excuse,  and  therefore 
without  comfort.  Submission  to  evils  God  ordains 
is  the  height  of  energy  and  nobility;  submission  to 
the  mistakes  we  ourselves  make  is  the  climax  of 
weakness  and  cowardice.  If  two  cannot  live  to 
gether  in  peace,  they  had  better  separate  than  cause 
each  other  to  sin  every  day. 


266  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  2d.  If  you  know  you  are  on  a  wrong  road,  leave 
it;  a  wrong  road  cannot  lead  you  right. 

"  3d.  If  you  are  sick,  and  the  surgeon's  knife  is 
necessary,  do  not  waste  time  with  drugs  and  seda 
tives.  Accept  the  knife  as  restorative. 

"  4th.  If  you  make  a  mistake  of  any  kind,  it  is 
your  manifest  duty  to  rectify  it,  or  to  spring  out  of 
its  shadow;  and  an  unhappy  marriage  is  the  most 
pathetic  of  all  mistakes.  If,  however,  you  have 
made  an  unhappy  marriage,  why  should  you  give 
permanency  to  wrong,  and  finality  to  suffering? 
There  are  no  elements  of  reformation  in  the  irrevoca 
ble,  it  is  a  hell  without  hope  and  without  energy. 

"  5th.  You  must  not  judge  your  position  near  the 
twentieth  century  by  the  laws  of  Moses.  The  Church 
has  gone  back  to  them  for  authority  to  burn  witches, 
and  buy  and  sell  slaves,  and  collect  tithes,  etc.  We 
are  come  unto  Bethlehem,  and  are  not  under  the  laws 
of  Sinai.  The  laws  of  England  are  cruel  enough 
to  wives ;  there  is  no  need  to  go  back  to  Leviticus. 

"  6th.  Christ  truly  said,  '  What  God  has  joined 
together,  let  no  man  put  asunder.'  What  God  joins 
together,  no  man  can  put  asunder.  Poverty,  sorrow, 
care,  shame,  helplessness  only  draw  the  bond  tighter. 
They  go  to  the  grave  together,  and  with  a  noble 
constancy  look  across  the  grave  to  an  immortal  com 
panionship. 

"  I  dare  say,  my  dear  daughter,  you  have  thought 
of  all  these  things;  think  now  of  what  good  you 
can  do  each  other  by  separation: 

"  i  st.  Robert  is  under  wrong  influences,  while  you 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  267 

are  present  to  provoke  them.  Day  by  day  he  is 
learning  to  be  more  and  more  cruel.  But  when  he 
has  lost  you,  he  will  remember  your  sweetness  and 
goodness,  and  long  for  you, 

'  For  we  never  know  the  worth  of  a  thing, 
Until  we  have  thrown  it  away! 

"  2d.  That  evil  old  woman  is  growing  constantly 
in  all  malice,  cruelty,  and  sin.  Be  no  longer  an 
occasion  for  her  wickedness. 

"  3d.  You  yourself  are  wasting  your  life  in  Doubt 
ing  Castle.  Hopeful  found  the  key  of  it  in  his 
breast.  Do  likewise.  You  ought  to  be  in  the  very 
height  and  glory  of  your  existence.  You  are  doing 
nothing,  learning  nothing,  losing  everything.  Make 
a  change;  you  cannot  make  it  too  quickly.  It  will 
probably  ploughshare  and  harrow  your  heart,  as  the 
farmer  ploughshares  and  harrows  the  field;  but  after 
this  preparation,  you  can  sow  the  seeds  of  your  future 
happiness.  Now  all  seed  sowing  is  a  mystery, 
whether  in  the  heart,  or  in  the  field,  but  sow  in  love 
and  in  faith,  and  the  harvest  will  truly  better  all 
your  expectations.  Think  well  over  your  move 
ments,  but  do  not  think  till  you  cannot  act.  Begin 
at  once  to  prepare  for  what  must  be  done,  keeping 
in  mind  the  good  motto  of  the  Eighty-seventh  Regi 
ment:  '  Clear  the  Way! '  sweep  every  fear  and  doubt 
out  of  it,  all  encumbrances  of  body  or  mind.  Carry 
no  old  grudges  or  offences  with  you,  no  sad  mem 
ories.  Step  out  into  the  new  way  with  a  trusting, 


268  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

cheerful,  childlike  spirit,  and  be  sure  and  take  the 
Great  Companion  with  you.  Mother  will  write  you 
to-morrow.  Your  loving  parents, 

"  JOHN  AND  MARY  NEWTON." 

This  letter  "  cleared  the  way,"  for  Theodora,  and 
with  the  daring  decision  of  fresh  young  faculties,  she 
grasped  the  whole  position  confidently.  She  saw 
that  she  must,  for  the  present,  give  up  her  husband — 
it  was  absolutely  necessary  and  remedial.  But  she 
also  saw  a  future  with  him  that  should  redeem  the 
whole  unhappy  past.  She  saw  it,  because  from  her 
long  trial  she  had  brought  a  three-edged  spirit, 
tempered  and  polished  by  the  fires  of  many  afflictions ; 
and  an  Inner  Woman  perfect — no  member  wanting, 
none  sick  or  disabled,  an  Inner  Woman  full-grown, 
ready  for  any  emergency,  with  time  for  everything 
human.  She  had  also  been  much  encouraged  and 
strengthened  by  her  father's  prompt  preparation,  and. 
she  told  herself,  as  she  carefully  destroyed  the  letter, 
that  as  the  thing  was  to  do,  it  were  well  to  do  it  as 
soon  as  possible. 

As  if  to  urge  her  to  this  finality,  her  home  became 
still  more  uncomfortable  after  Ducie's  departure. 
Day  after  day  passed,  but  no  girl  was  hired  in 
Ducie's  place,  and  Mrs.  Campbell's  chambermaid 
never  reached  Theodora's  rooms,  until  it  was  time 
for  her  to  dress  for  dinner.  Indeed,  it  appeared 
as  if  the  girl  had  been  ordered  to  wait  until  her 
presence  would  be  the  most  annoying.  And  in  a  few 
days,  the  question  of  breakfast  became  a  serious  one. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  269 

One  morning  Mrs.  Campbell  met  McNab  on  the 
stairway  with  the  tray  containing  Theodora's  and 
David's  breakfast  in  her  hands.  She  looked  angrily 
at  the  woman,  and  said  in  slow,  positive  words: 

"  Take  that  tray  back  to  the  kitchen!  " 

"  It  is  Mrs.  Campbell's  and  Master  David's 
breakfast." 

"  Mrs.  Robert  can  come  to  the  breakfast  table, 
as  well  as  I  can." 

"  And  whar  will  Master  David  eat  his  mouthful? 
You  hae  said  peremptor,  he  shallna  eat  at  your 
board." 

"  He  can  eat  with  you — he  can  eat  anywhere — or 
nowhere,  for  aught  I  care." 

"  Na,  na !  He  will  be  Campbell  o'  the  Campbell 
Iron  Works  yet,  and  he  is  beyond  eating  wi'  serving- 
men  and  lasses.  I  will  just  tak'  the  tray  up  this 
morning,  for  my  arms  are  aching  wi'  the  weight  o' 
it." 

"  You  will  just  take  the  tray  to  the  kitchen." 

"  That  is  the  last  order  you  will  gie  Flora  Mc 
Nab,  ma'am." 

"Your  threat  is  an  old  one,  McNab;  I'm  not 
fearing  it." 

"  Nor  me  expecting  you  to  be  feared.  When  you 
dinna  fear  God  Almighty,  why  would  you  be  fearing 
the  like  o'  me?  Out  o'  the  way  then,  and  let  me 
by  you  wi'  the  tray." 

Very  uncomfortable  was  the  family  breakfast  that 
morning.  Something  was  the  matter  with  Jepson. 
Every  dish  was  cold,  and  is  there  any  food  nastier 


270  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

than  cold  porridge  and  cold  boiled  fish?  Robert 
grumbled  over  his  plates,  and  Mrs.  Campbell  was 
equally  cross,  and  still  more  explanatory  of  her  tem 
per.  About  the  middle  of  the  meal,  McNab  en 
tered  the  room  in  her  church  bonnet,  and  her  double 
Paisley  shawl,  pinned  with  its  large  Cairngorm 
brooch.  Robert  looked  at  her  in  amazement,  and 
with  a  laugh  that  was  not  a  pleasant  one,  asked: 

;'  Where  are  you  going,  McNab,  so  early  in  the 
morning?  " 

"  Back  to  the  Hielands,  sir.      Pay  me  my  wage, 
and  I'll  be  awa'  in  time  for  the  Perth  train." 
'  You  are  not  going  to  leave  us?  " 

"  That  is  just  what  I  am  going  to  do." 

"Nonsense!" 

"  I'm  not  going  to  stop  in  this  house,  and  see  your 
wife  and  bonnie  bairn  starved  for  food.  The  poor 
bit  laddie  is  crying  the  now,  for  his  bread  and  milk, 
and  your  mother — wi'  the  hard  heart  o'  her — willna 
let  me  gie  either  the  bairn,  or  his  mother  a  mouthf u' ; 
so  I  am  going  back  to  the  Hielands  whar  folks  hae 
hearts — and  Jepson  is  going  likewise,  and  the  twa 
lasses  are  going.  Pay  me  my  honest  wages,  Maister 
Campbell,  for  I'm  in  a  hurry  to  get  out  o'  hearing 
o'  the  starving  baby,  crying  for  his  bowl  o'  milk." 

"  That  will  do,  McNab.  The  Perth  train  does 
not  leave  until  eleven  o'clock.  Go  into  the  library, 
I  want  to  speak  to  you,  and  take  Jepson  and  the  two 
girls  there.  I  will  come  in  a  few  minutes."  He 
was  obeyed  without  a  word,  for  he  spoke  with  that 
tone  and  manner  which  compelled  even  the  leather- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  271 

dressed,  leather-masked  men  who  fed  his  furnaces  to 
cower  before  him. 

When  McNab  and  Jepson  had  left  the  room  he 
turned  to  his  mother  and  asked:  "  Am  I  to  pay  them, 
and  send  them  away?  " 

"  That  would  be  unspeakable  foolishness.  I  can 
not  possibly  do  without  McNab  and  Jepson.  The 
two  other  hizzies  can  go  if  they  want  to." 

"  Then  why  do  you  meddle  with  McNab  ?  " 

"  It  is  not  her  business  to  wait  on  your  wife  and 
child." 

"  Then  whose  business  is  it?  " 

"  No  one's,  at  present." 

"  Then  see  you  find  some  one  to-day  whose  busi 
ness  it  will  be  to  wait  on  them.  If  you  do  not,  I 
will  take  my  wife  and  child  myself  to  the  Victoria 
Hotel." 

"  I  am  fairly  worn  out  with  the  quarrelling  and 
trouble  your  wife  and  child  make  in  the  house. 
There  is  no  pleasuring  either  of  them.  I  have  sent 
two  girls  to  her,  and  she  wouldn't  give  house-room 
to  one,  nor  the  other — decent  girls,  as  I  could  find." 

"  One  of  them  was  drunk  when  she  called,  and 
the  other  had  never  cleaned  a  parlor,  or  made  a  bed 
in  her  life.  It  was  kitchen  work  she  wanted;  and 
she  spoke  Gaelic  better  than  English.  See  that  a 
proper  girl  is  hired  to-day.  It  is  an  outrageous 
thing,  to  set  me  to  sorting  your  servant  girls'  wrongs. 
I  shall  tell  McNab  to  serve  my  wife  and  child,  until 
a  proper  maid  is  found  for  them." 

But  such  disputes  as  this,  common  as  they  were 


272  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

on  every  household  subject,  did  not  trouble  Theo 
dora,  as  they  did  when  she  had  to  face  a  perma 
nence  of  them.  She  knew  now  they  would  soon  be 
over.  They  were  passing  away  with  every  hour. 
Besides  this  consideration,  a  great  event  in  life  takes 
all  importance  out  of  small  events,  and  she  was  so 
occupied  with  the  total  change  approaching  her,  that 
the  trifle  of  Mrs.  Campbell's  temper,  or  injustice  did 
not  seem  to  be  much  worth  minding.  Her  cheer 
fulness  and  good  temper  was  an  amazing  thing  to 
Mrs.  Campbell,  who  not  understanding  its  reason, 
set  it  down  to  "  Dora's  aggravating  ways." 

"  She  thinks  it  annoys  me,"  she  said  to  Isabel, 
"  she  thinks  it  annoys  me  to  appear  so  indifferent  to 
my  just  anger,  but  she  has  to  thole  it  anyway,  and 
I'll  wager,  she  likes  it  no  better  for  all  her  smiling 
and  singing  to  herself." 

But  Mrs.  Campbell's  just  anger  had  now  lost  all 
its  importance  to  Theodora,  for  every  one  was  prac 
tically  ready  for  the  change,  though  the  end  of  April 
was  the  date  fixed  unless  some  good  or  evil  event 
sanctioned  an  earlier  movement. 

This  event  came  unexpectedly,  and  in  a  different 
direction  from  any  anticipated.  Robert  left  home 
one  morning  about  the  twenty-second  of  April  very 
uncomfortably.  His  mother  had  been  complaining 
bitterly  of  David's  restlessness  at  night.  She  said 
he  must  be  removed  to  the  upper  floor.  She  was 
astonished  that  a  boy  of  his  age  should  want  to 
sleep  near  his  mother.  He  must  sleep  beside  Dora's 
maid  for  the  future.  She  could  not  have  her  sleep 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  273 

broken,  at  her  time  of  life  it  meant  serious  illness 
— and  so  on. 

After  breakfast  Robert  spoke  to  his  wife  on  the 
subject,  and  he  was  amazed  at  the  spirit  she  dis 
played.  She  said  "  David  was  sick  last  night.  I 
was  fighting  croup  from  midnight  until  dawn,  and 
you  know,  Robert,  how  alarmingly  subject  to  this 
terrible  disease  he  is.  How  could  he  be  left  to  a 
tired  girl's  care?  She  would  not  have  heard  that 
first  hoarse  cry  last  night,  and  we  might  have  found 
him  dead  this  morning — strangled  all  alone  in  the 
darkness.  No!  he  shall  not  leave  me,  or  if  you 
say  he  must  go  to  the  servants'  floor,  then  I  will 
go  too." 

With  this  subject  still  in  abeyance  Robert  left  her. 
Then  Mrs.  Campbell  sent  servants  to  remove  the 
boy's  cot  to  the  maid's  room,  and  Theodora  posi 
tively  refused  to  allow  its  removal,  sending  the  men 
away,  and  then  locking  her  doors.  She  was  quiver 
ing  with  fear  and  feeling,  when  Robert  unexpectedly 
returned  home.  He  said  the  mail  had  brought  him 
bad  news.  He  had  been  informed  that  Sykes  and 
Company  of  Sheffield — who  were  heavily  indebted  to 
him — had  failed,  and  he  must  go  to  Sheffield  at  once. 
He  told  Theodora  to  pack  his  valise  for  a  two  weeks' 
stay,  while  he  went  into  the  city  for  a  certain  account 
ant,  whom  he  proposed  to  take  with  him,  in  order 
to  examine  the  books  of  the  delinquent  firm. 

"  Pack  my  valise  for  a  two  weeks'  stay."  The 
poor  wife  trembled  through  all  her  being.  It  was 
the  order  for  her  own  departure.  The  packing  of 


274  ^  Reconstructed  Marriage 

his  valise  would  be  the  last  act  of  the  sorrowful 
drama  of  her  marriage.  It  was  the  last  time  she 
would  ever  do  him  the  service.  The  last  time! 
Every  garment  had  a  tragic  look.  She  touched  them 
tenderly.  Her  unchecked  tears  dropped  upon  them. 
If  it  was  not  for  David's  sake,  she  doubted  whether 
she  could  carry  out  her  intentions — but  her  child,  her 
child!  They  wanted  even  now  to  separate  them  in 
their  home,  in  a  few  weeks  they  might  take  him  en 
tirely  away  from  her.  His  old  enemy  Croup  would 
find  him  alone  in  the  dark  and  some  dreadful  night 
strangle  him.  He  would  be  punished  for  faults  he 
did  not  even  understand,  flogged,  deprived  of  food 
and  companionship,  tormented  by  cruel  boys  older 
than  himself — oh,  she  could  not  bear  to  continue  her 
reflections,  for  the  boy's  sake  she  must  leave  his 
father.  And  then  a  kind  of  anger  at  the  father 
followed  in  the  steps  of  her  grief.  If  she  could 
have  trusted  his  father  to  defend  him  in  all  cases, 
it  need  not  have  been ;  but  she  could  see,  even  in  the 
dispute  concerning  his  sleeping-place,  his  father  was 
inclined  to  stand  by  the  cruel  wish  of  the  grand 
mother. 

Oh,  but  the  packing  of  that  valise  was  a  hard 
task!  And  when  it  was  strapped  and  locked,  it 
seemed  almost  to  reproach  her.  She  was  sitting 
gazing  at  it,  when  Robert  entered  the  room  and 
caught  the  look  of  love  and  despair  which  filled  her 
eyes,  and  saddened  her  face  and  her  attitude.  In 
spite  of  himself  it  flattered  him.  He  was  astonished 
at  her  devotion,  but  it  comforted  him.  His  mother 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  275 

had  been  angry  when  she  heard  of  Sykes  and  Com 
pany's  failure.  She  had  reminded  him  of  her  ad 
vice  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  them — had  told  him 
"  Sykes  looked  shifty  and  rascally,  and  her  words 
had  come  true,  and  perhaps  he  would  believe  her 
next  time  she  gave  him  good  advice."  But  Theo 
dora  had  been  full  of  sympathy,  and  had  given  him 
only  kind  and  encouraging  words. 

His  manner  was  so  unusually  gentle,  that  she  ven 
tured  to  say:  "  I  am  afraid  to  be  left  here  without 
you,  Robert.  They  will  take  David  from  me,  or 
I  shall  have  a  fight  to  keep  him.  It  hurts  me  so, 
dear,  what  am  I  to  do?  Will  you  tell  mother  to 
let  David's  sleeping-place  alone  until  you  come 
back?" 

He  was  silent  for  a  moment,  then  he  answered: 
"  Take  David  and  go  and  see  your  own  father  and 
mother.  You  could  stay  ten  or  twelve  days.  When 
I  am  ready  to  come  home,  I  will  telegraph  you  to 
meet  me  at  Crewe  Station,  then  we  can  make  the 
journey  back  together." 

"Oh,  Robert,  Robert!  Oh,  you  dear  Robert  I 
What  a  joy  that  will  be  to  David  and  myself !  How 
shall  I  thank  you?  " 

"  Never  mind  the  thanks.  Now  I  must  go.  I 
have  not  a  minute  to  spare." 

''  Davie  is  in  the  next  room." 

He  went  to  the  child's  cot,  and  stood  a  moment 
looking  at  him.  He  was  not  yet  recovered  from 
the  night's  awful  struggle,  but  he  opened  his  eyes 
and  stretched  upward  his  arms,  and  Robert  could  not 


276  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

resist  the  silent  appeal.  Thank  God,  O  thank  God, 
he  stooped  and  kissed  him,  and  felt  the  little  arms 
around  his  neck  in  a  way  that  amazed  him!  Then 
he  looked  at  Theodora  and  lifted  his  valise.  The 
carriage  was  at  the  door,  his  mother  was  hurrying 
him,  he  said:  "Good-bye,  Dora.  I  will  telegraph 
you  about  Crewe." 

"  Thank  you,  Robert.  Please  say  so  before 
mother,  or  she  may  try  to  prevent  my  going."  Her 
eyes  were  fixed  on  him.  There  was  a  piteous  en 
treaty  in  them — would  he  not  kiss  and  embrace  her 
also?  Oh,  if  he  knew  it  was  the  last  time!  If  he 
only  knew  it !  The  thought  was  full  of  passionate 
longing.  He  could  not  but  feel  it.  He  was  just 
going  to  take  her  hand,  when  Mrs.  Campbell  opened 
the  door  and  said  fretfully: 

"  You  will  miss  your  train,  Robert — delaying  and 
delaying  for  nothing  at  all." 

"  I  was  telling  Dora  to  go  home  on  Friday,  and 
see  her  parents  for  twelve  days  or  more.  I  will 
meet  her  at  Crewe,  and  we  shall  come  home  to 
gether." 

"  Very  well.  I'll  be  gey  and  thankful  to  have 
the  house  to  ourselves  for  a  few  days — or  forever." 

Robert  was  hastening  to  the  carriage  and  did  not 
hear  her  reply,  but  when  it  was  about  to  move,  he 
bent  forward  and  looked  at  the  door  he  was  leav 
ing.  Theodora  stood  on  the  steps.  Her  heart  was 
in  her  eyes,  her  hands  clasped  above  her  breast. 
She  saw  him  bend  forward,  and  leaned  towards  him 
smiling.  Never  throughout  all  his  life  days  did  he 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  277 

forget  that  last  glimpse  of  the  beautiful  woman  who 
that  morning  watched  him  out  of  her  sight.  When 
he  was  quite  gone  she  turned  into  the  house  with 
that  sense  of  completeness  so  essential  even  to  the 
sorrowful.  She  had  seen  the  last  of  her  husband. 
The  bitterness  of  the  separation  was  over.  She 
went  to  Davie  and  let  him  comfort  her,  then  she 
dressed  the  boy,  and  left  him  in  the  care  of  McNab ; 
for  she  knew  that  she  must  go  to  Mrs.  Oliphant's 
without  delay.  The  door  had  been  set  wide  open 
for  them,  and  they  must  make  the  best  of  the  oppor 
tunity;  or  perhaps  lose  their  lucky  hour  forever. 

Fortunately  David  Campbell  was  at  Mrs.  Oli 
phant's,  having  returned  from  Edinburgh  not  ten 
minutes  previously.  He  heard  Theodora's  tidings 
with  a  calm  pleasure.  "  We  are  ready,"  he  said. 
"  Your  father  and  mother  have  been  in  Glasgow  for 
a  week.  They  are  boarding  at  a  house  in  Monteith 
Row,  a  pretty  locality  on  Glasgow  Green." 

"  Oh,  David,  were  you  not  afraid?  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  he  answered,  "  the  Campbells  are 
exclusive  West-Enders.  They  would  be  as  likely  to 
go  near  Monteith  Row  as  to  go  to  Ashantee.  Your 
parents  are  known  as  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bell.  You 
must  not  try  to  see  them  until  you  meet  on  the 
steamer." 

"  Very  well.      When  shall  we  sail?  " 

"  This  is  Tuesday.  The  Anchor  Line  have  a  good 
boat  sailing  at  noon,  Saturday.  Can  you  be  ready?  " 

"Easily.      About  your  daughters?" 

"  They  are  ready.     They  will  be  here  Friday,  or 


278  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

perhaps  Thursday.  Now  I  will  go  and  secure  the 
four  best  staterooms  possible.  I  shall  take  them  in 
the  name  of  Kennedy — and  that  will  be  our  name, 
until  we  reach  New  York." 

Theodora  remained  with  Mrs.  Oliphant  until 
David  returned  with  the  tickets  for  the  four  state 
rooms.  She  felt  then,  that  there  was  no  reprieve, 
and  that  her  first  duty  now  was  to  be  as  cheerful 
and  brave  as  she  ought  to  be.  On  reaching  home, 
she  found  that  David's  cot  had  been  carried  to  the 
maid's  room,  but  she  made  no  complaint.  The  fact 
swept  away  all  doubts  and  misgivings;  it  was  the 
last  injustice,  the  last  cruelty  that  could  be  inflicted, 
and  it  was  a  vain  one,  for  David  could  sleep  with 
her,  until  the  end  came. 

On  the  following  morning,  she  asked  Jepson  to 
send  to  her  room  the  smallest  of  her  trunks,  and 
she  put  into  it  a  few  things  belonging  to  her  girl 
hood's  life — her  music,  her  textbooks,  a  novel  she  had 
nearly  finished  writing,  and  the  beautiful  linen  she 
had  made  and  embroidered  with  her  own  hands  for 
her  marriage  outfit.  Two  dresses  were  all  that  re 
mained  of  the  gowns  bought  at  this  date.  These 
she  took  with  her.  In  her  hand  she  would  carry 
a  Gladstone  bag  with  toilet  necessities,  and  plenty 
of  clean  white  waists  and  collars  for  David  and  her 
self.  Their  suits,  bought  with  reference  to  this 
necessity,  were  of  dark  blue  cloth;  David's  made 
into  his  first  breeches  and  jacket,  and  Theodora's  in 
the  simplest  manner  possible,  but  as  Mrs.  Campbell 
said  to  Isabel: 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  279 

"  Plain,  of  course.  But  look  at  the  lines  and  the 
make  o'  it !  Menzie's  cutting  and  fitting  no  doubt. 
It  cost  five  guineas  to  make  that  dress  and  the  cloak 
with  it.  She's  a  wasteful  creature." 

"  Robert  said  she  bought  it  herself,  and " 

"  So  she  ought,  so  she  ought  I  And  the  boy 
dressed  up  in  broadcloth  and  linen  waists!  A  few 
yards  of  lindsey  would  be  more  fitting." 

"  Mother,  he  is  a  beautiful  boy." 

"Is  he?  I  cannot  see  myself  where  his  beauty 
comes  in." 

During  the  next  two  days  Theodora  employed  her 
self  in  folding  carefully  away  all  her  clothing,  and 
locking  it  up  in  its  proper  drawers.  Her  jewels 
she  packed  separately,  and  with  a  letter,  put  into 
McNab's  charge,  requesting  her  to  give  them  to  Mr. 
Campbell,  if  she  did  not  return  with  him.  When 
Friday  morning  came,  she  rose  early,  dressed  herself 
and  David,  and  was  ready  for  the  train  that  left 
just  about  the  time  the  Campbell  breakfast  was 
served.  In  this  way,  she  hoped  to  escape  the  pres 
ence  of  Jepson,  whom  she  feared  might  be  told  to 
accompany  her.  On  the  contrary,  Mrs.  Campbell 
grumbled  at  Jepson  for  helping  the  coachman  with 
her  trunk,  and  the  only  question  she  asked  was: 
"What  road  did  she  take,  Jepson?" 

"  The  Caledonian,  ma'am,"  was  the  answer. 

"  Hum-m-m !      I  thought  so." 

"  Has  she  gone?"  said  Isabel. 

"  Yes,  and  a  good  riddance  of  her." 

"  Oh,  mother,  and  none  of  us  bid  her  good-bye, 


280  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

or  wished  her  a  pleasant  time.      I  intended  to  go 
to  the  train  with  her — now  I  have  missed " 

"  Making  a  fool  of  yourself.  That  is  all  you 
have  missed." 

;'  What  train  would  Mrs.  Campbell  take,  Jep- 
son?" 

"  The  nine  o'clock  train,  I  suppose,  miss." 

But  Theodora  did  not  take  the  nine  o'clock  train. 
She  gave  a  porter  a  shilling  to  care  for  her  trunk, 
and  watched  an  hour  in  a  waiting-room.  No  one 
suspicious  appearing,  she  requested  the  porter  to  call 
a  cab,  and  put  her  trunk  upon  it,  and  then  without 
fear  or  hurry,  she  drove  to  a  certain  store,  where 
David  Campbell  was  waiting.  He  went  with  her 
at  once  to  the  pier  of  the  Anchor  Line,  where  they 
left  her  trunk  to  be  placed  with  the  rest  of  the  Ken 
nedy  luggage  in  the  hold.  "  And  now,  where  will 
you  hide  yourself  until  to-morrow  morning,  Theo 
dora?  "  he  asked  kindly. 

uMrs.  Oliphant " 

"  No.  She  wants  you,  but  I  told  her  it  could  not 
be.  Her  servants  will  be  closely  questioned,  no 
doubt." 

"I  see." 

"  The  steamer  touches  at  Greenock.  Get  a  room 
in  the  Tontine  Inn.  Have  your  food  served  in  your 
room,  and  keep  quiet  until  you  walk  down  to  meet 
the  steamer." 

" 1  will  do  so.      It  is  the  best  plan." 

So  they  went  to  the  railway  station,  and  David 
Campbell  put  them  into  a  comfortable  carriage  for 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  281 

Greenock.  "  You  will  see  your  father  and  mother 
to-morrow,"  he  said.  "  They  are  as  happy  as  two 
little  children  over  the  journey.  It  is  a  great  event 
for  them,  and  they  are  talking  of  their  little  grand 
son  continually.  They  long  to  see  him." 

Theodora  hardly  knew  what  was  being  said  to 
her.  She  was  in  a  kind  of  dreamlike  state — a  state, 
however,  in  which  no  mistakes  are  ever  made.  The 
Inner  Woman  had  control,  and  she  had  quite  re 
signed  herself  to  its  leading.  "  David  and  I  will 
meet  the  steamer  in  the  morning.  Be  on  the  watch 
for  us,  brother,"  she  said. 

"  I  will.      You  will  go  to  the  Tontine?" 

"  Certainly." 

"  And  if  they  should  not  have  room  for  you  there, 
then  go  to  the " 

"  I  will  go  to  the  Tontine.  There  is  a  room 
ready  for  me  there." 

He  looked  at  her  kindly  and  understood.  Those 
who  have  watched  long,  solemn  nights  away  with  the 
Beloved  One,  slowly  dying,  know  something  beyond 
the  lines  of  science,  or  the  teachings  of  creeds.  He 
said  good-bye  to  her,  without  a  fear  of  any  mistake. 

At  Greenock  she  found  the  prepared  room  in  the 
Tontine,  and  she  made  herself  and  little  Davie  com 
fortable,  and  then  ordered  their  dinner  to  be  brought 
to  them.  She  was  glad  of  this  pause  in  her  affairs, 
and  long  after  Davie  was  asleep,  she  sat  pondering 
the  past  and  the  future.  At  first  she  was  dazed  and 
half-unbelieving  of  the  great  event  that  had  taken 
place  in  her  life.  In  the  darkness  of  the  room,  she 


282  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

fell  into  short  sleeps,  and  kept  feeling  around  in  the 
darkness  of  her  mind  to  learn  what  troubled  her, 
until  suddenly,  in  cruel  starts  from  sleep,  her  sorrow 
found  her  out. 

But  this  is  the  depth  in  our  nature,  where  the 
divine  and  human  are  one.  Here,  in  our  weakness 
and  weariness,  we  are  visited  by  the  Upholder  of 
the  tranquil  soul,  and  words  wonderful  and  secret, 
cheer  the  weary  and  heavy-laden ;  for  God  has  royal 
compassions  for  the  broken  in  heart.  Theodora 
awoke  in  the  morning  full  of  hope,  and  in  one  of 
her  most  cheerful  moods.  The  road  no  longer 
frightened  her,  the  ocean  no  longer  separated  her. 
She  had  wings  now  for  all  the  chasms  of  life,  and 
when  she  opened  a  little  book  for  a  word  to  clear 
the  way,  and  the  day,  she  cried  out  joyfully,  for 
this  was  her  message: 

"  The  Lord  is  with  me,  hastening  me  forward."  * 

At  the  time  appointed  the  steamer  reached  Green- 
ock,  she  was  there  to  meet  it,  and  David  Campbell 
was  at  the  gangway  watching  for  her.  There  was 
a  crowd  of  incomers  and  outgoers,  and  David  was 
glad  of  it,  for  Theodora  with  her  child  reached  their 
stateroom  without  notice  from  any  one.  There  she 
found  her  father  and  mother,  and  the  joy  and  won 
der  of  that  meeting  may  well  be  left  to  the  imagina 
tion. 

It  had  been  decided,  that  until  David  found  out 
whether  any  of  the  passengers  were  sitters  in  Dr. 

*ist  Esdras  1,27. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  283 

Robertson's  church,  or  people  from  any  circumstance 
likely  to  know  Theodora,  she  should  remain  in  se 
clusion;  but  in  a  couple  of  days,  David  had  clearly 
established  the  safety  of  her  appearance;  and  after 
that  assurance,  she  was  constantly  on  deck  with  the 
rest  of  the  party.  All  the  way  across  the  Atlantic 
they  had  a  blue  sky,  a  blue  sea,  sunshine,  and  good 
company;  and  one  morning  they  were  awakened  by 
some  one  calling  "Land!  Land  in  sight!"  and 
hastening  on  deck  they  stood  together  watching  their 
approach  to  the  low-lying  shores  of  that  New  World 
which  held  for  them  the  promise  of  a  happy  home 
and  a  prosperous  future. 


CHAPTER  XI 

CHRISTINA  AND  ISABEL 

JUST  about  the  time  Theodora's  party  were  sitting 
down  to  a  happy  dinner  in  the  Astor  House,  New 
York,  Robert  reached  his  home  in  Glasgow.  He 
had  confidently  expected  to  see  his  wife  waiting  for 
him  at  Crewe  Junction,  and  been  disappointed  and 
angry  at  her  failure  to  do  so.  "  Women  are  all 
alike,"  he  muttered  to  himself,  "  they  never  keep 
an  appointment,  and  they  never  catch  a  train."  He 
wandered  round  the  waiting-rooms  looking  for  her, 
and  so  missed  his  own  train,  and  had  to  wait  two 
hours  at  one  of  the  most  depressing  stations  in  Eng 
land.  For  though  the  traffic  is  immense  there,  the 
stony,  prison-like  order,  the  silent,  hurrying  passen 
gers,  and  the  despondent-looking  porters,  fill  the 
heart  with  a  restless  passion  to  escape  from  the  place. 
Without  analyzing  this  feeling,  Robert  was  conscious 
of  it,  and  it  intensified  the  annoyance  of  his  deten 
tion. 

All  the  way  to  Glasgow  he  pondered  on  the  singu 
lar  circumstance  of  Theodora's  failure  to  obey  the 
telegram  he  had  sent  her.  She  had  always  been 
so  prompt  and  glad  to  meet  him,  there  must  have 
been  some  mistake  made  in  the  message.  He  tried 
to  remember  its  exact  words,  but  could  not,  and  as 

284 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  285 

he  neared  his  own  city  a  certain  fear  assailed  him. 
He  began  to  wonder  if  his  wife  or  child  was  sick — 
or  if  any  accident  had  happened  on  their  journey 
from  Bradford  to  Crewe.  But  this  solution  he 
quickly  dismissed  as  incredible.  Theodora  would 
have  managed  under  any  circumstances  to  send 
him  word.  She  would  not  have  kept  him  waiting 
and  wondering.  It  was  utterly  unlike  her.  At 
length  the  anxious  journey  was  over,  but  in  hurrying 
from  the  train  to  his  carriage,  he  noticed  that  the 
coachman  spoke  in  an  easy,  nonchalant  way,  and 
that  there  was  no  sign  about  him  of  anything  unusual 
or  unhappy.  When  he  reached  Traquair  House 
his  mother  and  Isabel  met  him  at  the  door,  and  Jep- 
son  unlocked  his  apartments,  and  began  to  turn  on 
the  light  in  the  parlors. 

"  We  shall  have  dinner  in  twenty  minutes,  Rob 
ert,"  said  Mrs.  Campbell,  and  Jepson  added: 
"  Your  rooms  upstairs  are  prepared  for  you,  sir." 
No  one  had  named  Theodora,  and  he  had  not 
done  so  either.  Why?  He  could  not  tell  "why"; 
for  her  name  beat  at  his  lips,  and  inquiry  about 
her  was  the  great  demand  of  his  nature.  He  looked 
into  her  rooms,  and  the  sense  of  emptiness  and  deser 
tion  about  them  was  like  a  blow.  David's  cot  had 
been  removed,  he  saw  that  at  once,  and  felt  angry 
about  it.  And  the  perfect  order  of  things  shocked 
something  in  his  feelings  never  before  recognized. 
He  missed  sorely  those  pretty  bits  of  disorder,  that 
seemed  to  him  now  almost  a  part  of  his  wife  and 
child — the  bow  of  ribbon,  the  little  shawl  or  scarf 


286  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

over  a  chair-back,  the  small  book  of  daily  texts,  and 
the  thin  parchment  copy  of  "  The  Imitation  "  on  her 
table;  David's  puzzle  on  the  window  seat,  or  his 
tiny  handkerchief  on  the  floor  beside  it. 

Restless  and  unhappy  he  went  down  to  the  dining- 
room.  His  mother  was  in  high  spirits;  Isabel  still 
and  indifferent.  But  it  was  Isabel  who  asked:  "  How 
much  longer  is  Dora  going  to  stay?  The  house  is 
so  lonely  without  her." 

"  The  house  has  been  peaceful  and  restful  with 
out  her,  and  the  noisy  child.  I  am  sure  it  has  been 
a  great  relief,"  corrected  Mrs.  Campbell. 

"  I  am  anxious  about  Dora,"  said  Robert  with  a 
touch  of  his  most  sullen  temper,  "  she  ought  to  have 
met  me  at  Crewe,  and  did  not  do  so.  It  was  not 
like  her." 

"  It  was  very  like  her.  She  is  the  most  unreliable 
of  women.  I  dare  say  we  shall  see  her  by  the  next 
train — perhaps  we " 

"  Mother,  you  are  mistaken  both  about  Dora  and 
the  train.  Dora  can  always  be  depended  on,  and 
I  waited  for  the  next  train,  but  she  was  not  on  it. 
After  dinner  I  must  telegraph  to  Bradford  and  else 
where." 

"  Perfect  nonsense !  Let  her  alone,  and  she'll 
come  home — no  fear  of  it.  She  was,  however,  keen 
enough  to  get  away — off  before  we  had  breakfast — 
and  without  a  word  to  any  one." 

"  Mother,"  corrected  Isabel,  "  that  was  our  fault. 
She  came  to  bid  us  good-bye,  but  we  neither  of  us 
spoke  to  her." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  287 

"  Drop  the  subject,"  said  Robert  in  a  manner  too 
positive  to  be  disobeyed. 

He  himself  dropped  every  subject,  and  finished  his 
meal  in  a  silence  so  eloquent,  that  no  one  had  the 
spirit  to  break  it.  His  mother  looked  at  him  in 
dignantly,  his  sister  kept  her  eyes  on  her  plate,  and 
ate  with  a  noiseless  deliberation,  that  was  almost 
provoking.  It  was  a  most  wretched  meal. 

"  And  all  because  that  creature  missed  meeting 
him  at  Crewe,"  snorted  the  angry  mother  as  her  son 
left  the  room. 

"  You  had  better  go  to  the  library,  mother,  and 
find  out  what  is  the  matter.  I  dare  say  it  is  business 
— and  not  Dora  at  all." 

"  I  will  go  as  soon  as  he  has  had  a  ten  minutes' 
smoke.  He  is  as  touchy  as  tinder  yet,  Isabel." 

But  Robert  did  not  go  to  the  library.  As  he 
came  out  of  the  dining-room  McNab  walked  up  to 
him,  and  he  spoke  more  pleasantly  to  her  than  he 
had  yet  done  to  any  one  since  his  return.  "  Good- 
evening,  McNab,"  he  replied  to  her  greeting,  "  I 
hope  you  are  well." 

"  As  well  as  I  ever  expect  to  be  in  this  house,  sir. 
My  dear  young  mistress  left  these  jewels  in  my 
care — fearing  what  happened  once  before,  sir — and 
I  promised  to  keep  them  safe  till  you  came  home; 
the  same  I've  done.  And  she  left  this  letter  like 
wise  for  you,  and  I  hope  there  is  no  bad  news  in  it, 
sir,  for  she  was  breaking  her  heart  the  day  she  was 
writing  it." 

"  Breaking  her  heart  ?     What  about,  McNab  ?  " 


288  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  They  were  going  to  take  the  bit  bonnie  bairn 
from  her — and  him  every  night,  as  like  as  not,  hav 
ing  a  black  life-and-death-fight  wi'  what  they  ca' 
croup.  You  know,  sir?  " 

"  I  know,  McNab.  Thank  you !  "  and  instead  of 
going  to  the  library,  he  went  into  his  own  parlor, 
and  locked  both  doors  leading  into  it.  Then  he 
sat  down  with  the  letter  in  his  hand.  He  looked 
at  the  neatness  with  which  it  was  folded,  addressed, 
and  sealed,  and  he  had  a  sudden  memory  of  the 
joy  and  expectation  with  which  he  had  once  been 
used  to  receive  such  letters.  He  had  no  fear  of  bad 
news.  He  expected  only  Theodora's  usual  pleading 
for  little  David,  and  he  thought  it  likely  the  removal 
of  the  boy's  cot  typified  a  more  than  common  dispute 
concerning  the  child. 

When  he  finally  opened  the  letter,  a  small  parcel 
fell  out  of  it,  which  he  laid  aside.  Then  he  read 
without  pause  or  faltering,  the  following  words: 

"Mv  DEAR  ROBERT: — A  little  while  ago,  you 
told  me  all  that  I  possessed,  that  even  my  wedding 
ring,  belonged  to  you.  To-day  I  restore  you  all  that 
you  have  given  me,  and  with  my  raiment  and  orna 
ments,  the  dearest  ornament  of  all — my  wedding 
ring.  You  have  broken  every  pledge  it  promised. 
You  have  treated  me,  and  permitted  others  to  treat 
me,  with  a  sustained,  deliberate  neglect  and  cruelty 
that  is  almost  incredible.  To-day  I  make  you  free 
from  all  obligations  to  me,  and  my  child.  Do  not 
try  to  find  us.  You  cannot.  We  shall  disappear 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  289 

as  completely  as  a  stone  thrown  into  mid-ocean.  But 
you  know  well,  that  I  may  be  fully  trusted  to  do 
all  my  duty  to  David.  Oh,  Robert,  Robert,  I  can 
not  bear  to  reproach  you!  I  love  you,  though  I 
am  leaving  you  forever.  My  father  and  mother 
go  with  me,  and  God  and  they  are  a  multitude.  I 
shall  want  for  nothing  but  your  love,  and  that  was 
taken  from  me  long  ago.  My  love,  my  love !  Fare 
well  forever.  THEODORA." 

Then  he  unfolded  the  bit  of  tissue  paper  which 
the  letter  contained,  and  out  of  it  fell  the  wedding 
ring.  He  laid  it  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand  and 
looked  at  it.  And  as  he  looked,  the  storm  in  his 
heart  gathered  and  gathered,  until  all  its  waves  and 
billows  went  over  him. 

"  Gone!  Gone  forever! "  he  said  in  an  awful 
whisper — a  whisper  that  came  from  a  depth  of  his 
nature  never  plumbed  before;  an  abyss  that  only 
despair  and  death  know  of.  He  rose  and  walked 
about,  he  sat  down,  he  re-read  the  letter,  he  tried 
to  think,  and  could  not.  He  threw  off  his  coat  and 
vest,  his  collar  and  neckerchief;  they  lay  at  his  feet, 
and  he  kicked  them  out  of  his  way.  "  I  am  choking 
— dying!"  he  murmured.  "Dora!  Dora!  Dora! 
Where  are — you?  " 

The  unfortunate  man  was  torn  with  the  most  con 
trary  feelings.  He  loved  the  adorable  woman  who 
had  cast  him  off;  and  he  hated  her.  Remorse  for 
his  own  neglect  and  cruelty  alternated  with  anger  at 
his  wife  for  the  pain  she  was  giving  him.  And  she 


290  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

had  robbed  him  of  his  child  also,  his  child!  Oh, 
he  would  have  the  child  back,  if  he  moved  heaven 
and  earth  to  compass  it.  There  was  no  order,  no 
method  in  his  grief,  one  dreadful  accusation  fol 
lowed  another  like  actual  blows,  from  a  hand 
he  could  neither  stay,  nor  entreat,  nor  reason 
with. 

In  hoarse  mutterings,  and  fierce  imprecations,  he 
gave  voice  to  a  passion  of  grief  and  anger  so  furious, 
that  ordinary  speech  utterly  failed  it.  Frequently 
he  struck  the  table  or  the  piano  frenzied  blows  with 
his  hand — or  he  kicked  out  of  his  path  chairs,  stools, . 
or  whatever  came  in  his  raging  way.  Even  Theo 
dora's  embroidery  frame  was  thus  treated,  and  then 
tenderly  lifted  and  straightened,  and  put  in  its  place. 
His  restless  feet  and  hands,  his  distracted  walk,  his 
mad  motions,  his  distorted  face  and  inflamed  eyes, 
all  indicated  a -tumult  of  suffering  and  despair,  ren 
dered  all  the  more  terrible  by  the  shrill  strain  of 
half-religious  oaths,  which  like  flashes  of  hell-fire  made 
the  blackness  of  darkness  in  which  he  suffered  all 
the  more  lurid  and  awful. 

At  length  his  physical  nature  refused  to  express 
any  longer  his  mad  sorrow  by  motion.  He  fell  prone 
upon  the  sofa,  and  clasping  his  hands  over  his  heart, 
he  sobbed  as  only  strong  men  in  the  very  exhaustion 
of  all  other  expression  of  feeling  can  sob.  By  this 
time  it  was  late,  the  house  was  dark  and  still,  and 
only  the  miserable  man's  mother  was  awake  and 
watching.  She  felt  that  there  was  sorrow  in  the 
house,  and  when  midnight  came  she  went  softly 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  291 

downstairs  and  stood  at  her  son's  door,  listening  to 
the  soul  in  agony,  moaning,  sobbing,  accusing,  blam 
ing,  entreating,  defying.  She  feared  to  let  him 
know  she  was  there  and  she  feared  to  leave  him.  She 
was  at  a  loss  to  account  for  a  passion  so  amazing  and 
uncontrolled.  Stepping  softly  back  to  her  room  she 
reconsidered  herself.  In  a  couple  of  hours  there  was 
the  crash  of  china  falling,  and  her  temper  got  the 
better  of  her  fear.  She  went  hastily  and  without 
attempt  at  secrecy,  to  her  son's  door. 

"  Robert !  "  she  called,  but  there  was  no  answer. 

"  Robert,  Robert  Campbell,  open  this  door!  "  and 
she  shook  the  handle  violently. 

He  rose  with  an  oath,  flung  the  door  wide,  and 
stood  glaring  at  her  from  eyes  red  and  swollen  and 
fierce  with  anger.  "  What  do  you  want?  "  he  asked. 
"  Can  you  not  let  me  alone,  even  at  midnight?  " 

"What  is  the  matter  with  you?  Are  you 
ill?" 

"  No." 

"  Then  what  for  are  you  sobbing  and  crying? 
I'm  fairly  ashamed  for  you.  Do  you  know  it's  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning?  " 

"  I  don't  care  what  time  it  is.      Go  away." 

"  I  will  not  go.  You  are  demented — or  you  are 
wicked  beyond  believing." 

"Go  away!" 

"  I  will  not.  What,  in  God's  name,  is  the 
matter?  " 

"Theodora!"  he  shrieked,  as  he  flung  his  arms 
upward. 


292  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  O,  it  is  Theodora,  is  it?     I  thought  so." 

"She  has  left  me,  left  me  forever!  She  has 
gone,  and  taken  my  little  Davie  with  her." 

"  Just  what  I  expected." 

"  Just  what  you  drove  her  to." 

"Has  that  black-a-visored  dandy  staying  at  the 
Oliphants'  gone  with  her?  " 

"  Damnation,  no!  Her  father  and  mother  went 
with  her." 

"  She  says  so,  no  doubt.      Do  you  believe  her?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Weel,  I'm  glad  she's  off  and  awa'.  We'll  hae 
a  bit  o'  peace  now." 

"  My  heart  is  bleeding,  bursting;  I  cannot  listen 
to  you." 

"  Such  parfect  nonsense !  You  ought  to  be  thanks 
giving.  Who  broke  that  vase  to  smithereens?  " 

"  I  did." 

"  It  cost  twenty  guineas." 

"  I  don't  care  a  tinker's  curse,  if  it  cost  a  hundred 
guineas."  He  walked  to  the  mantlepiece  and  flung 
down  on  the  marble  hearth  a  valuable  piece  of 
Worcester. 

"  My  God,  Robert!    Have  you  lost  your  senses?  " 

"  I  have  lost  my  wife  and  child." 

"  Good  riddance  of  baith  o'  them." 

"  How  dare  you?  " 

"  Dinna  say  '  dare  '  to  me." 

"Go  away!      Go  instanter!  " 

'  You  will  go  first.     I'll  not  leave  you  alane." 

"  If  you  don't  go,  I  will  call  McNab  and  Jepson, 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  293 

and  they  will  help  you  to  your  own  room.  Do  you 
hear  me?  " 

"  Robert  Campbell,  go  to  your  decent  bed  and 
sleep,  and  behave  yourself." 

"My  God,  woman!" 

"  I  am  your  mother." 

"  God  pity  me !  I  can't  throw  you  down, 

but "  then  he  lifted  a  white  marble  clock,  and 

let  it  crash  among  the  broken  china.  "  Out  of 
here!  "  he  screamed.  His  usually  deep,  strong  voice 
had  been  rising  with  every  word  he  spoke,  and  his 
last  order  was  given  in  a  mad  alto  which  terrified 
the  woman  browbeating  him.  It  was  not  Robert's 
voice;  its  shrill  shriek  was  the  cry  of  extremity  or 
insanity.  She  fled  upstairs  to  McNab's  room. 

"Waken!  waken!  McNab,"  she  cried.  "Your 
master  has  lost  his  senses.  Run  for  Dr.  Fleming. 
Make  him  come  back  wi'  you." 

"What  hae  ye  been  doing  to  the  poor  man?" 
she  asked  sleepily  as  she  put  on  her  shoes. 

"  Nothing,  nothing  at  all.  Just  advising  him.  It 
is  that  English  cutty — she " 

"Meaning  Mrs.  Robert  Campbell?" 

"  Call  her  what  you  like.  It  is  her,  it  is  her ! 
She  has  taken  the  bairn  and  gone." 

"Gone?" 

"  Left  her  husband  forever.  Be  in  a  hurry, 
woman.  Don't  you  hear  the  man  raving  like  a  wild 
beast?" 

He  was  not  raving  when  McNab  looked  at  him 
in  passing.  He  was  lying  on  the  sofa  perfectly  still, 


294  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

with  his  hands  clasped  above  his  head.  So  the 
doctor  found  him  a  quarter-of-an-hour  later.  '  You 
have  had  a  great  shock,  Campbell,"  he  said. 

"  A  shot  in  the  backbone,  doctor.  My  wife  has 
left  me,  and  taken  my  son  with  her." 

"I  know!  But  were  you  not  expecting  her  to 
do  so?" 

"No,  no!     Why  should  I?" 

"  How  much  longer  did  you  think  your  wife  could 
bear — what  she  had  to  bear?  Come,  come,  you 
must  look  at  this  trial  like  a  sensible  man !  I  sup 
pose  you  want  to  find  her?  " 

"  It  is  all  I  shall  live  for." 

"  Then  you  must  sleep.  I  will  go  with  you  to 
your  room,  and  give  you  a  sedative.  You  must 
sleep,  and  get  yourself  together.  Then  you  will 
have  to  make  your  face  iron  and  brass,  for  all  you 
will  have  to  meet — advice  and  pity,  blame  and  sym 
pathy,  but  you  will  carry  your  cup  of  sorrow  without 
spilling  it  o'er  everybody  you  meet — or  I  don't  know 
you.  What  made  you  lose  your  grip  to-night?  " 

"  Necessity,  doctor.      I  had  to,  or " 

"  I  know." 

"  One  towering  rage  was  better  than  daily  and 
hourly  disputing.  The  subject  is  buried  now,  be 
tween  my  family  and  myself.  It  was  a  necessity." 

"  Ay,  ay,  and  when  Necessity  calls,  none  shall  dare 
'  bring  to  her  feet  excuse  or  prayer.'  Your  wife's 
flight  was  a  necessity  also.  Keep  that  in  your  mind. 
You  are  sleepy,  I  see;  don't  look  at  the  newspapers 
till  the  wonder  is  over." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  295 

The  newspapers  easily  got  hold  of  the  story,  and 
each  related  the  circumstance  in  its  own  way.  Some 
plainly  said  domestic  misery  had  driven  the  ill-used 
lady  to  flight;  others  spoke  of  her  great  beauty  and 
wonderful  voice,  and  made  suspicious  allusions  to 
the  temptations  always  ready  to  assail  beauty  and 
genius.  None  of  them  omitted  the  world-weary 
taunt  of  the  mother-in-law,  and  some  very  broad 
aspersions  were  made  on  Mrs.  Campbell's  well- 
known  impossible  temper,  and  her  hatred  of  all  mat 
rimonial  intrusions  into  her  family.  The  story  of 
her  eldest  son's  unsatisfactory  marriage  was  recalled, 
his  banishment  and  exile  and  supposed  death.  Chris 
tina's  flight  from  her  rich,  titled  lover  to  the  poor 
man  she  preferred  added  a  romantic  touch;  and  the 
final  tragedy  of  the  disappearance  of  Robert  Camp 
bell's  wife  and  son  seemed  to  the  majority  proof 
positive  that  the  trouble-making  element  was  in  the 
Campbell  family,  and  rested  in  the  hard,  proud, 
scornful  disposition  of  the  mother,  and  mother-in- 
law.  There  was  not  a  single  paper  that  did  not 
take  a  special  delight  in  blaming  Mrs.  Traquair 
Campbell,  but  all,  without  exception,  praised  ex 
travagantly  the  beauty,  the  sweet  nature,  and  the 
genius  of  her  wronged  and  terrorized  daughter-in- 
law. 

Robert  Campbell  took  no  notice  of  anything,  that 
either  the  newspapers  or  his  mother  said.  One  day 
Isabel  showed  him  a  remark  concerning  "  the  un 
happy  life  of  that  unfortunate  gentleman,  the  late 
amiable  Traquair  Campbell,  Esq."  "  You  ought  to 


296  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

stop  such  shameful  allusions,  Robert,"  she  said, 
"  they  make  mother  furious." 

He  looked  at  her  with  eyes  sad  and  suffering,  and 
answered:  "Neither  you  nor  I,  Isabel,  can  gainsay 
those  words.  They  describe  only  too  truly  our 
father's  position.  He  was  amiable,  and  he  was  un 
happy." 

"  But,  Robert,  the  insinuation  is,  that  mother  was 
to  blame  for  our  father's  unhappiness." 

"  She  was.  Such  accusations  are  best  unanswered. 
If  we  do  not  talk  life  into  them,  they  will  die  in 
a  few  days." 

To  those  who  did  not  know  Robert  Campbell,  he 
seemed  at  this  time  indifferent  and  unfeeling.  In 
reality  he  was  consumed  by  the  two  passions  that 
had  taken  possession  of  him — the  finding  of  his  wife 
and  son,  and  the  making  of  money  to  keep  up  the 
search  for  them.  He  spent  his  days  at  the  works, 
his  evenings  were  devoted  to  interviewing  his  de 
tectives,  writing  them  instructions,  or  reading  their 
reports.  Shabby-looking  men,  in  various  disguises, 
haunted  the  hall  and  library  of  Traquair  House,  and 
every  single  one  of  them  gave  Mrs.  Campbell  a 
fresh  and  separate  attack  of  anger.  They  were 
naturally  against  her,  they  believed  everything  wrong 
said  of  her,  they  talked  slyly  to  the  servants,  and 
would  scarcely  answer  her  questions;  they  trespassed 
on  her  rights,  and  disobeyed  her  orders;  and  if  she 
made  a  complaint  of  their  behavior  to  her  son,  he 
looked  at  her  indignantly  and  walked  silently  away. 
Speech,  which  had  been  her  great  weapon,  and  her 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  297 

great  enjoyment,  lost  its  power  against  the  smoulder 
ing  anger  in  her  son's  heart,  and  the  speechless  in 
solence  of  his  "  spying  men." 

Very  soon  after  his  sorrow  had  found  him  out 
he  locked  every  drawer  and  closet  in  the  rooms  that 
had  been  Theodora's.  It  was  a  necessary  .action, 
but  he  had  a  bitter  heartache  in  its  performance. 
The  carefully  folded  garments,  with  their  faint  scent 
of  lavender,  held  so  many  memories  of  the  woman 
he  longed  to  see.  The  knots  of  pale  ribbons,  the 
neckwear  of  soft  lace !  Oh,  how  could  such  things 
hurt  him  so  cruelly?  In  one  drawer  of  her  desk 
he  found  the  stationery  she  had  begged  her  own 
money  to  buy.  She  had  not  even  taken  the  postage 
stamps.  That  circumstance  set  him  thinking.  She 
was  leaving  England,  or  she  would  have  taken  the 
stamps — perhaps  not — they  might  have  been  left  for 
the  very  purpose  of  inducing  this  belief.  Who  could 
tell? 

Meantime  nothing  in  the  life  of  Traquair  House 
changed  or  stopped,  because  Robert  Campbell's  life 
had  been  snapped  into  two  parts.  Mrs.  Campbell 
soon  recovered  her  pride  and  self-confidence.  She 
told  all  her  callers  she  "  had  received  measureless 
sympathy,  and  as  for  her  enemies,  and  what  they 
said,  she  just  washed  her  hands  of  them — poor,  beg 
garly  scribblers,  and  such  like." 

Isabel's  behavior  was  a  nearer  and  more  constant 
annoyance.  She  spent  the  most  of  her  time  in  her 
own  room  with  maps  and  guidebooks  and  writing, 
and  the  pleasure  she  derived  from  these  sources  was 


298  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

a  pleasure  inconceivable  to  her  mother.  '  You  are 
past  reckoning  with,  Isabel,"  she  said  fretfully  one 
day,  "  what  on  earth  are  you  busy  about?  " 

"  I  am  planning  routes  of  travel,  mother,  putting 
down  every  place  to  stop  at,  what  hotel  to  go  to, 
what  is  worth  seeing,  and  so  on.  I  have  four  routes 
laid  out  already.  I  am  hoping  some  day,  when  I 
have  made  all  clear,  you  will  go  with  me." 

"  Me !  Me  go  with  you !  Not  while  I  have  one 
of  my  five  senses  left  me." 

"  I  shall  surely  go  some  day.  I  might  have  been 
travelling  ere  now,  but  I  disliked  to  leave  you  alone, 
after  this  trouble  about  Dora." 

"  There  is  no  trouble  about  Dora,  none  at  all. 
The  running  away  o'  the  creature  is  a  great 
satisfaction  to  me.  I  hate  both  her  and  her 
child." 

"  Robert  is  breaking  his  heart  about  them." 

"  And  neglecting  his  business,  and  spending  more 
money  than  he  is  making,  looking  for  them.  I  might 
break  my  heart,  too,  but  thanks  be!  I  have  more 
sense.  Did  I  tell  you  the  Crawford  girls  are  com 
ing  to  stay  a  week  or  two?  I  thought  they  would 
be  a  bit  company  to  you.  I  suppose  they  can  have 
the  room  next  yours." 

"  Christina's  room !  Oh,  mother,  I  wish  you 
would  put  them  somewhere  else.  You  have  a  spare 
room." 

"  It  is  o'er  near  my  own  room.  And  they  are 
apt  to  come  home  at  night  full  o'  chat  and  giggle, 
and  get  me  wakened  up  and  maybe  put  by  all  sleep 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  299 

for  that  night.  What  is  wrong  with  the  room  next 
yours?  " 

"  I  don't  like  any  one  using  Christina's  room — 
and  they  will  keep  me  awake." 

"  Nobody  takes  the  least  thought  for  my  comfort." 

"Why  did  you  ask  the  Crawfords?  You  know 
Robert  hates  them." 

"  Robert  is  forgetting  how  to  behave  decently. 
He  will  at  least  have  to  be  civil  to  the  Crawfords, 
and  that  is  a  thing  he  has  ceased  to  be  either  to 
you  or  me." 

"  Robert  and  I  understand  each  other.  He  gives 
me  a  look,  and  I  give  him  one.  We  do  not  require 
to  speak." 

"  I  wonder  how  I  ever  came  to  breed  such  un 
feeling,  unsocial  children.  If  I  get  '  yes  '  or  '  no  ' 
from  your  brother  now,  it  is  the  whole  of  his  con 
versation;  and  as  for  yourself,  Isabel,  you  are  at 
that  wearisome  reading  or  writing  the  livelong  day. 
I'll  need  the  Crawfords,  or  some  one,  to  talk  to 
me,  or  I'll  forget  how  to  speak.  Now  where  will  I 
sleep  them?  " 

"  I  suppose  in  poor  Christina's  room." 

"  Poor  Christina!  Yes,  indeed!  I  have  no  man 
ner  o'  doubt  it  is  '  poor  Christina  '  by  this  time." 

"Mother!  mother!  do  not  spae  sorrow  to  your 
own  child.  I  can't  bear  it.  I  think  she  is  very 
happy  indeed.  If  she  was  not,  she  would  have  sent 
me  word.  It  is  poor  Isabel,  and  it  is  happy  Chris 
tina." 

"  Your  way  be  it." 


300  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

The  next  day  the  Crawfords  came,  and  were  in 
stalled  in  Christina's  room.  Mrs.  Campbell  was 
in  one  of  her  gayest  moods,  and  she  said  to  Isabel: 
"  I  am  not  going  to  live  in  a  Trappist  monastery, 
because  Robert  is  too  sulky  to  open  his  mouth  to  me. 
I'll  be  glad  to  hear  the  girls  clacking  and  chattering, 
and  whiles  laughing  a  bit.  God  knows,  we  need 
not  make  life  any  gloomier  than  it  is." 

For  two  or  three  days,  the  Crawfords  had  the 
run  of  the  house.  Robert  went  away,  "  on  another 
wild  goose  chase  "  his  mother  said,  just  before  they 
arrived;  and  his  mother's  words  were  evidently  true, 
for  he  came  home  with  every  sign  of  disappointment 
about  him.  He  looked  so  unhappy,  that  Isabel, 
meeting  him  in  the  hall,  said:  "  I  am  sorry,  brother, 
very  sorry." 

"  I  know  you  are,"  he  answered.  "  It  was  a  false 
hope — nothing  in  it." 

"  I  would  stop  looking." 

*  You  are  right.      I  will  give  it  up." 

He  went  into  the  dining-room  with  Isabel,  said 
good-evening  to  his  mother,  and  bowed  civilly  to  her 
guests.  The  dinner  proceeded  in  a  polite,  noiseless 
manner,  until  the  end  of  the  second  course.  Then 
Robert  lifted  his  eyes,  and  they  fell  upon  Jean  Craw 
ford's  hand.  The  next  moment  he  had  risen  and 
was  at  her  side. 

"  Give  me  the  ring  upon  your  right  hand,"  he 
said  in  a  voice  that  held  as  much  passion  as  a  voice 
could  hold  and  be  intelligible. 

"Why,  Cousin  Robert!" 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  301 

"  I  want  that  ring!  " 

"  Aunt  Margaret  said " 

"  Give  me  the  ring.  It  is  not  yours.  How  dare 
you  wear  it?  " 

"I  was  bringing  it  back!  Oh,  Aunt  Mar 
garet  !  " 

"  Robert,  I  am  ashamed  of  you !  " 

"  Mother,  I  want  Theodora's  ring — the  ring 
stolen  from  my  wife  years  ago.  I  must  have  it — 
I  must,  I  must!  " 

"  Don't  cry,  Jean.  Give  him  his  ring.  I'll  give 
you  a  far  handsomer  one." 

Then  the  woman  threw  it  down  on  the  table,  and 
Robert  lifted  it  and  left  the  room. 

Isabel  sat  until  the  tearful,  protesting  meal  was 
over,  and  then  she  did  the  most  remarkable  thing — 
she  went  to  her  brother.  He  was  sitting  looking  at 
the  ring,  recalling  its  history.  He  remembered  go 
ing  into  Kendal  one  Saturday  night,  just  after  its 
receipt,  and  memory  showed  him  again  Theodora's 
delight  and  excitement,  her  wonder  over  its  beauty, 
and  her  pride  in  her  pupils'  affection.  He  could  see 
her  lovely  face,  her  shining  eyes,  he  could  feel  her 
soft  kiss,  and  the  caress  of  her  hand  in  his.  Oh, 
what  a  miracle  of  love  and  beauty  she  was  to  him 
that  night!  He  told  Isabel  all  about  it,  and  then 
he  spoke  of  its  theft,  and  of  his  frequent  promises 
and  failures  to  recover  it  for  her. 

"  But,  brother,"  said  Isabel,  "  you  have  now  quite 
unexpectedly  got  it  back.  It  is  a  good  omen.  Some 
day,  when  you  are  not  looking  for  such  a  thing,  you 


302  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

will  get  its  owner  back,  you  will  put  it  on  her  finger. 
I  feel  sure  of  it." 

"  I  was  a  brute,  Isabel." 

"  You  were  a  coward.  You  were  afraid  of 
mother." 

"  No  man  ever  had  so  many  opportunities  for 
happiness  as  Theodora  offered  me.  I  scorned  them 
all.  Why  was  I  so  blind,  so  unjust,  so  cruel?  I 
am  miserable,  and  deserve  to  be  miserable.  We 
can  go  to  hell  before  we  die,  Isabel." 

"  Yes,  we  can,  but  we  send  ourselves  there.  '  If 
I  make  my  bed  in  hell,'  said  the  great  seer  and 
singer.  It  is  always  /  that  makes  that  bed,  never 
God,  never  any  other  human  being."  And  it  was 
Robert  Campbell,  he  himself,  and  no  other,  who  had 
made  his  bed  in  that  forlorn  circle  of  hell,  where 
men  who  have  lost  their  Great  Opportunity,  weep 
and  wail  over  their  forfeited  happiness.  Poor  Isa 
bel,  she  remembered,  and  longed  to  remind  her 
brother,  that  even  there  God  was  with  him,  waiting 
to  be  gracious,  ready  to  help!  But  she  was  too 
cowardly,  she  did  not  like  to  give  religious  advice; 
she  was  only  a  woman — he  would  wonder  at  her. 
So  she  went  away,  and  did  not  deliver  the  gracious 
message,  and  felt  poor  and  mean  because  of  her  fear 
and  her  faithlessness. 

This  conversation,  however,  made  a  decided 
change  in  Robert  Campbell's  life.  It  had  always 
been  believed  by  the  family,  that  Isabel,  unknown 
to  herself,  had  a  certain  occult,  prophesying  power; 
frequently  she  had  proved  that  with  her  insight  was 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  303 

foresight.  So,  though  Robert  said  nothing  to  her 
when  she  told  him  the  getting  back  of  the  ring  was 
a  good  omen,  he  believed  her  and  derived  a  singular 
peace  and  confidence  from  the  prediction.  At  that 
very  hour,  he  virtually  put  a  stop  to  all  inquiries,  and 
to  all  search;  he  resolved  to  leave  to  those  behind 
him  the  bringing  back  of  his  wife,  and  their  recon 
ciliation. 

Carrying  out  this  resolve  compelled  him  to  take 
account  of  the  money  he  had  spent  in  the  quest  for 
Theodora  and  his  son,  and  the  total  gave  him  a 
shock.  It  had  been  an  absolutely  fruitless  waste  of 
money,  and  he  had  a  fiery  impetuous  determination 
to  restore  to  his  estate  the  full  amount.  To  this 
object  he  devoted  himself,  and  if  a  man  is  willing 
to  lose  his  heart  and  soul  in  money-making,  he  is 
sure  to  succeed. 

So  the  weeks  and  the  months  passed,  and  he  turned 
himself,  body  and  soul,  into  gold  and  tried  to  for 
get.  The  loss  of  his  wife  and  child  became  a  some 
thing  that  had  happened  long  ago — an  event  sorrow 
ful,  and  far  off.  For  there  was  nothing  to  keep 
their  memory  alive.  No  one  mentioned  their  names, 
and  the  very  rooms  they  had  inhabited,  had  lost 
all  remembrance  of  them.  They  were  simply  empty 
rooms  now,  for  every  particle  of  the  lovely  and  lov 
ing  lives  that  had  once  informed  them,  had  been 
withdrawn. 

Nearly  two  years  had  passed  since  Christina  mar 
ried,  nearly  as  long  since  Theodora  and  David  dis 
appeared,  and  the  big,  silent  Traquair  House  was  a 


304  ^  Reconstructed  Marriage 

desolate  place.  Mrs.  Campbell  had  no  one  but  her 
servants  to  dispute  with,  for  though  Isabel's  seclusion 
was  constantly  more  marked,  Robert  would  not  listen 
to  a  word  against  his  sister.  She  had  been  sorry 
for  him,  and  forespoken  good  for  him;  he  stood 
staunchly  by  all  she  did. 

"  Do  you  know  that  she  is  going  away  this  spring, 
into  all  sorts  of  wild  and  savage  countries,  and  among 
pagans  and  papists,  and  worse — if  there  is  worse; 
with  nothing  but  a  woman  nearly  as  old  as  myself 
to  lean  on.  I  wonder  at  your  allowing  such  non 
sense." 

"  Isabel  knows  what  she  is  doing.  She  is  going 
with  Lady  Mary  Grafton.  They  will  have  their 
maids,  and  a  first-class  courier.  I  think  she  is  doing 
right." 

"And  I  shall  be  left  here,  all  alone?" 

"  Do  you  count  me  a  nonentity?  " 

"  You  are  very  near  it,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned." 

"I  am  alone,  too.  Will  you  remember  that? 
You  know  whose  fault  it  is."  Then  he  rose  and 
left  her,  and  Mrs.  Campbell  was  conscious  of  a  secret 
wish  that  the  good  old  quarrelsome  days  would  come 
back,  even  though  it  were  Theodora  and  David  who 
brought  them." 

A  few  days  after  this  conversation  Robert  had 
business  in  the  city,  and  after  it  was  finished,  he 
walked  leisurely  down  Buchanan  Street.  It  was  a 
fine  spring  morning,  and  there  was  a  glint  of  sun 
shine  tempering  the  fresh  west  breeze.  Passing  Mc 
Laren's,  he  saw  a  lady  get  out  of  a  cab,  and  go  into 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  3°5 

the  shop.  He  followed  her,  and  gently  laid  his 
hand  on  her  shoulder,  saying: 

"  Christina,   sister!  " 

"  Oh,  Robert,  Robert !  "  and  she  laughed,  and 
cried,  and  clasped  his  hands. 

"  Come  with  me  to  my  club,"  he  said,  "  and  we 
will  have  lunch  and  a  good  talk.  You  must  have 
a  deal  to  tell  me." 

"  I  have,  I  have !  My  cab  is  at  the  door.  Will 
it  do  for  you?  You  used  to  hate  cabs."  She 
laughed  again  and  her  laugh  went  to  his  heart,  so 
he  petted  her  hand,  and  said  she  was  looking  white 
and  thin,  and  what  was  the  matter?  " 

"  I  had  a  little  daughter  only  six  weeks  ago,  the 
sweetest  darling  you  ever  saw,  Robert.  And  I  have 
a  beautiful  wee  laddie,  called  Robert — called  after 
you — he  is  nearly  a  year  old." 

"  Then  I  must  go  with  you  and  see  my  name 
sake." 

"  Do  you  really  mean  that?" 

"  I  intend  to  give  you  this  afternoon." 

"  I  am  so  glad — so  happy." 

Then  they  were  at  the  Club  House,  and  Robert 
took  her  to  a  pleasant  parlor  and  ordered  a  royal 
lunch,  and  a  bottle  of  wine. 

"  We  must  drink  the  little  chap's  health,"  he  said. 
"And  now  tell  me,  Christina,  are  you  happy?" 

"  Yes,  I  am  happy.  I  have  some  little  anxieties 
about  Jamie,  but  love  makes  all  easy — and  Jamie 
loves  me  and  the  children,  and  does  his  best  for  us. 
A  man  cannot  do  more  than  that,  can  he?  " 


306  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Have  you  ever  regretted  your  treatment  of  Sir 
Thomas  Wynton?" 

"  Never  once !  Wynton  treated  me  handsomely, 
but  you  see,  /  loved  Jamie.  You  understand,  Rob 
ert?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  I  heard  about  Theodora,  of  course.  It  was  hard 
on  you,  but  I  do  not  blame  Theodora.  Since  I  was 
a  mother,  I  have  wondered  she  bore  David's  treat 
ment  as  long  as  she  did.  I  would  not." 

When  lunch  was  over,  they  drove  to  Christina's 
home,  and  Robert  laughed  at  its  location.  "  Why, 
you  are  barely  a  mile  from  Traquair  House,"  he 
said.  "  How  was  it  we  never  found  you  out?  " 

"  Perhaps  you  did  not  care  about  finding  me  out." 

"  Perhaps.  Yet  I  know  Isabel  never  went  out 
without  looking  for  you,  and  she  has  put  many  ad 
vertisements  in  the  papers." 

"  Well,  I  was  neither  lost  nor  stolen,  Robert,  so 
I  never  read  advertisements."  She  laughed  in  her 
old  mocking  way.  "  But  I  longed  for  Isabel,  and 
have  hard  work  to  keep  away  from  her." 

There  was  just  time  for  Robert  to  see  his  name 
sake,  and  give  him  a  gold  token,  and  admire  the 
baby  in  its  mother's  arms,  and  the  mother  with  the 
baby  in  her  arms,  when  there  was  the  sound  of  a 
latch-key  in  the  door,  and  then  a  gay  whistle.  "  Here 
comes  Jamie,"  cried  Christina,  all  her  face  aglow 
with  love  and  expectation.  Jamie  was  a  personality 
you  felt  as  soon  as  he  entered  the  house.  Robert 
looked  anxiously  for  his  appearance ;  but  he  was  not 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  307 

prepared  for  the  young  man  who  entered.  He  was 
so  handsome.  Not  Robert  Burns  himself  had  a  more 
winning  face,  or  more  charming  manners.  He  came 
into  the  room  laughing,  and  when  he  saw  Robert, 
went  straight  to  him  with  outstretched  hand.  "  Glad 
to  see  you,  Campbell,"  he  said  heartily,  and  Robert 
felt  he  was  glad.  u  You  will  take  dinner  with  us?  " 
he  asked,  and  Robert  said  he  would.  Then  he 
brought  cigars,  and  began  to  discuss  with  Robert 
a  subject  which  was  at  that  time  very  interesting  to 
the  city.  Robert  found  him  clever  and  amusing, 
and  he  had  a  way  of  illustrating  all  his  points  with 
stories  so  apt,  and  so  amusing,  you  felt  sure  he  in 
vented  them  as  needed. 

They  had  a  modest,  cheerful  dinner,  after  which 
Jamie  played  the  fiddle  and  sang  as  Robert  had  never 
dreamed  it  was  possible  to  fiddle  and  sing;  and  he 
fell  completely  under  the  man's  charm.  For  he 
made  fiddle  strings  of  Robert's  heart  strings,  with 
his  wild  Gathering  Calls,  his  National  Songs,  and 
Strathspeys.  It  was  impossible  not  to  love  the  man, 
and  whatever  liking  and  admiration  Robert  Camp 
bell  had  to  give,  he  gave  unresistingly  that  night 
to  James  Rathey.  He  went  away  reluctantly,  though 
he  had  stayed  some  time  after  dinner,  and  when 
he  clasped  the  beautiful  hand  of  the  violinist  he  held 
it  a  moment,  and  said:  "You  have  made  me  happy 
for  a  few  hours.  I  thank  you !  I  shall  not  forget." 

All  the  way  home  he  was  revolving  a  plan  in  his 
mind,  which  he  was  resolved  to  bring  to  perfection. 
With  this  object  in  view,  he  looked  into  the  dining- 


308  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

room  when  he  reached  home,  hoping  to  find  Isabel 
there.  But  Mrs.  Campbell  was  sitting  alone  with 
a  newspaper  in  her  hand.  She  looked  bored  and 
forsaken,  and  he  was  sorry  for  her.  '  Where  is 
Isabel?"  he  asked. 

"  Where  she  always  is,  except  at  eating-times — in 
her  room." 

"  I  want  to  see  her." 

"  Will  not  your  mother  do?  " 

"  Not  just  yet.     I  may  want  you  in  a  short  time." 

"  And  then  I  may  not  come.  You  are  going  to 
ask  Isabel,  whether  it  is  prudent  to  tell  me  some 
thing,  or  not." 

"  Will  you  let  Isabel  know,  or  shall  I  send  Mc- 
Nab?" 

"  I  will  tell  her  myself." 

Then  Robert  went  to  his  own  parlor,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  Isabel  came  to  him.  He  took  her  hand, 
and  seated  her  at  his  side.  "  Isabel,"  he  said,  "  I 
have  found  Christina.  I  have  had  lunch  and  din 
ner  with  her.  I  have  met  James  Rathey." 

"Oh,  Robert!" 

"  He  is  the  most  delightful  of  men.  They  are  as 
happy  as  they  can  be." 

Then  Isabel  began  to  cry  softly.  "  Oh,  Robert, 
Robert!  Such  good  news!  Tell  me  all  about 
them !  "  she  exclaimed.  And  Robert  told  her  all 
that  Christina  had  said,  and  all  that  Jamie  had  said. 
He  described  Christina's  and  Rathey's  appearance, 
he  told  her  about  the  babies,  he  even  made  a  few 
remarks  about  the  floor  and  the  furniture. 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  309 

"  I  must  go  and  see  her  the  first  thing  in  the  morn 
ing,  Robert." 

"•How  soon  will  you  start  on  your  travels,  Isa 
bel?" 

"  In  ten  days,  if  Lady  Mary  is  better." 

"Is  she  sick?" 

"  I  heard  this  morning  she  had  an  attack  of 
measles — very  peculiar  in  a  woman  of  her  age." 

"  I  don't  know,  I'm  sure.  What  I  want  is,  that 
Christina  should  come  into  my  rooms.  I  am  going 
to  give  her  all  the  furniture  in  them — everything — 
everything  except  some  clothing.  While  you  are 
away,  she  will  be  company  for  mother,  who  seems 
pitifully  lonely." 

"  That  is  mother's  fault,  Robert.  These  empty 
rooms  ought  to  be " 

"  I  know.  There  is  no  use  speaking  of  it.  All 
that  hope  is  over.  Do  you  think  you  can  persuade 
Christina  to  come  home?  " 

"  She  would  have  some  submissions  to  make  to 
mother — will  she  make  them?" 

"  I  think  so.      Go  and  ask  her." 

"  I  will  see  her  in  the  morning." 

In  the  morning  there  was  a  joyful  meeting  between 
the  sisters,  and  Christina  was  delighted  with  Robert's 
plan.  She  had  often  longed  for  the  large  rooms, 
the  wide  stairways  and  corridors  of  Traquair  House. 
She  hated  small  rooms,  and  common  stairs,  and  cabs, 
and  remembered  longingly  the  days  when  the  Camp 
bell  carriage  was  at  her  beck  and  call.  She  liked 
plenty  of  servants,  and  her  own  maid  and  nurse 


310  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

would  be  added  to  the  staff  in  Traquair  House.  She 
would  be  relieved  of  all  housekeeping  cares,  and  of 
the  oversight  of  the  table,  a  duty  she  particularly 
disliked.  Besides  these  considerations,  she  could 
again  take  her  proper  place  in  society.  Robert  would 
be  certain  to  do  something  for  Jamie,  and  then  she 
would  have  her  income  for  dress  and  social  demands. 

"  It  will  be  delightful,  Isabel,"  she  said.  "  Just 
what  I  wish,  and  Jamie  will  win  round  mother  di 
rectly — he  has  that  way  with  all  women." 

"  Then  come  home  about  five  this  afternoon,  and 
bring  the  babies  with  you,  especially  Margaret." 

"  Isabel,  you  mean?  " 

"No,  no!  You  must  call  her  Margaret.  As 
Margaret  she  will  open  mother's  heart  to  you." 

About  five  that  afternoon,  Mrs.  Campbell  came 
into  the  big,  empty  dining-room.  She  was  dressed 
for  dinner,  but  there  were  no  signs  of  the  meal. 
She  looked  cross  and  forlorn,  and  began  to  grumble 
to  herself,  as  she  impatiently  stirred  the  fire  into  a 
blaze.  "  It  is  too  bad  of  Isabel,"  she  muttered; 
"  she  cares  for  nothing  but  her  own  way.  I  am  left 
to  look  after  everything — house,  callers,  what  not 
— and  there  is  a  ring  at  the  door  now !  I  hope  Jep- 
son  heard  it." 

The  next  moment  the  room  door  was  thrown  open, 
and  Christina,  in  a  flurry  of  beautiful  silk  and  fur,  fell 
on  her  knees  by  her  mother's  side.  She  clasped  her 
mother's  hands  in  her  own,  and  said  softly:  "  For 
give  Christina,  mother.  I  have  brought  my  little 
Margaret  for  your  blessing.  Oh,  yes,  you  will  bless 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  311 

her.  And  Christina  is  really  sorry,  and  longs  so 
much  for  her  mother  and  her  home — dear  mother, 
forgive  me  ?  " 

At  the  beginning  of  her  entreaty,  Mrs.  Campbell 
had  tried  to  take  her  hands  from  between  her  daugh 
ter's,  but  at  the  close  they  lay  passive  until  she  raised 
one,  stroked  Christina's  face,  and  bid  her  rise.  Then 
Christina  took  the  little  child,  and  laid  it  in  its 
grandmother's  arms,  saying: 

"  Little  Margaret  asks  you  to  forgive  and  love 
us,  mother," — and  little  Margaret  won  the  day. 

"  May  I  stay  dinner,  mother,  and  talk  to  you?" 

"  Go  up  to  your  own  room,  and  take  off  your  hat 
and  wrapping.  You  may  leave  the  bairns  with  me. 
Yon  is  a  bonnie  wee  lad,  what  is  his  name?  " 

"  Robert  Traquair." 

"  A  wise  like  name !  Bring  him  here,  lassie — 
and  what  is  your  name?  " 

"  Janet,  ma'am." 

"  Weel,  Janet,  you  may  now  take  the  boy-bairn 
to  the  kitchen,  and  show  him  to  Mistress  McNab, 
and  tell  her  she  will  hae  company  to  provide  for. 
I'll  keep  the  bit  lassie  mysel',  till  her  mother  is  ready 
for  her." 

At  six  o'clock,  as  arranged,  Robert  came  home  and 
joined  his  mother  and  sisters,  and  they  were  all 
talking  happily  together,  when  Jamie  Rathey  entered. 
Robert  met  him  with  a  hearty  welcome,  and  Jepson 
coming  in  at  that  moment,  to  superintend  the  setting 
of  the  table,  was  told  by  Robert  to  lay  service  for 
two  extra.  And  as  Christina  predicted,  when  the 


312  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

evening  was  over  Jamie  had  fairly  conquered  the 
usually  impossible  Mrs.  Campbell.  He  had  waited 
on  his  mother-in-law  as  if  he  was  her  lover,  he  had 
told  pleasant  stories,  and  sang  merry  songs,  and 
above  all  assured  her,  she  was  "  the  only  mother  he 
knew,  who  could  bring  up  daughters  able  to  make 
the  state  of  marriage  an  earthly  Paradise  " ;  and 
with  a  charming  smile  he  wished  "  that  she  had  fifty 
daughters,  so  that  Glasgow  might  boast  of  fifty  per 
fect  wives,  and  happy  husbands." 

Robert  watched  him,  and  listened  to  him,  and  won 
dered  that  a  man  of  his  tact  and  social  genius,  did 
not  get  on  in  the  world;  and  after  the  Ratheys  and 
their  children  had  departed  he  said:  "  Christina  has 
not  done  as  badly  as  we  believed,  mother.  What 
do  you  think  of  James?  " 

''  The  man  is  well  enough — as  a  man,"  she  an 
swered  with  a  sudden  cooling  of  heart  temperature, 
"  but  what  about  his  capacities?  Is  he  a  good  pro 
vider?  Can  he  get  hold  of  the  wherewithal  for  a 
family's  necessities?  " 

"  He  is  on  the  Roll  of  Attorneys  now,  but  it  is 
hard  for  a  young  man  to  get  a  law  business — it  takes 
time.  He  is  sure  to  make  his  mark,  but  I  do  not 
suppose  he  makes  his  office  rent  yet." 

"  I  thought  so." 

"  He  is  clever." 

'  Very.  And  if  he  is  as  clever  with  his  fiddle  as 
his  tongue,  I  would  be  astonished  if  he  made  office 
rent." 

"Why?" 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  313 

"  Because  God  has  given  to  some  men  wisdom  and 
understanding,  and  to  other  men  He  has  given  the 
art  o'  playing  on  the  fiddle.  But  if  a  man  is  want 
ing  law,  he  does  not  want  a  song,  and  he  is  naturally 
suspicious  of  the  lawyer  who  mixes  the  two." 

"  I  shall  get  him  installed  as  attorney  on  some  of 
the  civic  boards,  and  that  will  give  him  an  oppor 
tunity  to  show  himself  as  a  lawyer.  And,  mother, 
I  have  given  Christina  the  use  of  my  rooms,  and 
the  furniture  is  hers  now.  I  have  given  her  it  just 
as  it  stands — everything,  except  some  clothing. 
When  Isabel  goes  away,  I  thought  you  would  be 
very  lonely,  and  Christina  and  the  babies  will  make 
things  more  cheerful  for  you." 

"  I  might  have  been  asked,  if  it  would  be  agree 
able?" 

"  I  only  met  Christina  yesterday.  I  went  home 
with  her,  and  I  want  her  to  have  a  better  home — 
her  old  home,  and  you  to  look  after  her." 

"  Well,  a  mother's  duty  never  ends,  and  I  was 
never  one  to  shirk  duty.  The  rooms  are  all  right 
— but  as  for  the  cooking  and  the  kitchen " 

"  Tut,  tut,  mother !  You  will  look  after  the  table 
as  you  have  always  done." 

"  There  will  be  four  more  adults  to  provide  for, 
not  to  speak  o'  the  bairns'  feeding  and  washing." 

"  James  is  able  to  pay  whatever  you  think  right. 
I  will  insure  that  to  you.  And,  mother,  it  will  be 
a  joy  to  see  you  busy  about  the  house  again,  ordering 
the  meals,  and  keeping  the  servant  girls  up  to 
mark." 


314  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  I  always  was  a  busy  woman,  Robert,  and  I  will 
be  thankful  to  have  my  hands  full  again.  I  am  sure 
the  thought  o'  Christina's  playing  and  singing,  and 
her  goings  out  and  in,  and  the  visitors  she  will  have, 
and  the  news  coming  with  them,  and  the  children, 
special  the  bit  lassie  wi'  her  soft  black  een,  and  her 
wonderfu'  resemblance  to  mysel' — all  these  things, 
sure  enough,  will  make  the  old  house  a  deal  more 
pleasant.  But  where  will  you  keep  yourself?  " 

u  At  my  club.  I  have  a  room  there  anyway,  and 
I  shall  always  take  my  breakfast  in  it.  Sometimes, 
I  will  come  here  for  dinner,  but  Jamie  will  be  the 
man  of  the  house,  and  a  better  master  than  I  have 
ever  been — he  will  have  more  time  to  help  you, 
mother." 

These  conditions,  carefully  considered  and  elabo- 
ratecl,  were  carried  out  with  all  the  haste  possible. 
But  haste  is  not  in  a  Scotchwoman's  faculty.  She 
can  do  many  things  well,  but  she  must  carefully 
prepare  for  their  doing,  and  then  move  with  care 
and  caution. 

A  few  days  after  this  arrangement,  Mrs.  Camp 
bell  and  Christina  went  out  together  to  do  some  shop 
ping  found  necessary  for  it.  Isabel  remained  at 
home  to  answer  a  letter  from  the  Grafton  family. 
This  letter  gave  her  great  anxiety;  it  said:  "Lady 
Mary's  illness  had  become  more  serious  than  was  at 
first  anticipated,  and  there  was  almost  a  certainty 
that  she  would  not  be  able  to  travel  at  the  time 
fixed;  consequently,  they  would  leave  to  Miss  Camp 
bell  the  option  of  changing  the  date,  or  of  cancelling 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  315 

the  engagement,  as  seemed  best  for  her  own  pleasure 
and  interest." 

Poor  Isabel  was  much  troubled  at  this  disappoint 
ment.  She  feared  all  was  going  wrong  with  her 
plans,  and  the  thought  of  the  coming  invasion  with 
the  noise  of  the  children,  and  the  joyous  hilarity  of 
Christina  and  her  husband,  and  her  mother's  renewed 
importance,  was  not,  in  her  present  mood  of  dis 
appointment  and  uncertainty,  a  pleasant  anticipation. 
She  sat  silent  and  motionless,  her  eyes  fixed  on  the 
neatly  folded  routes  she  had  prepared.  And  her 
heart  sank  low,  and  a  few  tears  gathered  slowly  and 
remained  unshed.  "  All  my  desires  are  doomed," 
she  thought  sorrowfully.  "  Nothing  I  plan  comes 
to  pass.  How  unfortunate  I  am !  " 

Then  there  was  a  tap  at  her  door,  and  a  maid 
told  her  there  was  a  visitor.  She  rose  despondingly, 
took  the  card,  threw  it  on  the  table,  and  went  slowly 
to  the  drawing-room.  Before  she  had  quite  opened 
the  door,  she  heard  hurrying  steps  coming  to  meet 
her,  and  the  next  moment  Sir  Thomas  Wynton  was 
holding  her  hands,  and  trying  to  tell  her  how  happy 
he  was  to  see  her  again. 

She  had  an  instantaneous  sense  of  hope  and  relief, 
and  they  were  soon  heart  and  soul  in  the  conversa 
tion  they  both  enjoyed.  Very  soon  she  went  for 
the  routes  she  had  prepared,  and  showed  them  to 
the  baronet,  who  was  amazed  and  delighted: 

"  I  never  saw  anything  so  beautifully  and  care 
fully  done,"  he  exclaimed,  "  and  when  do  you  start 
on  Route  No.  i.?  I  see  it  takes  in  Russia,  Sweden, 


316  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

and  Norway,  and  home  by  the  Netherlands  and  Ork 
neys.  Why,  I  never  thought  of  that !  How  good, 
how  excellent  an  idea." 

"  I  intended  leaving  Glasgow  in  nine  days,  but 
Lady  Mary  Grafton,  whose  party  I  was  to  join,  is 
ill  with  measles." 

"Good  gracious!  Measles!  I  never  heard  of 
such  a  thing,  what  is  the  woman  up  to?  She  is  not 
a  baby  or  a  schoolgirl,  is  she?  " 

"  She  is  forty- four  years  old." 

"Oh!  And  measles?  How  absurd!  What  will 
you  do?  " 

"  I  was  trying  to  decide,  when  you  came.  Can 
you  help  me?  If  you  can,  I  shall  be  grateful.  If 
I  can  find  no  one  to  go  with  me,  I  shall  go  alone." 

"  Nonsense,  impossible !  May  I  call  early  to 
morrow  morning?  " 

"  Ten  o'clock  if  you  wish." 

Then  he  thanked  her  for  the  sensible,  interesting 
letters  she  had  written  him.  They  were  "  a  kind 
of  little  newspaper,"  he  said,  "  and  I  counted  those 
days  happy  and  fortunate  on  which  I  received  one. 
I  have  brought  you  some  laces.  I  noticed  that  you 
always  wore  pretty  lace,  and  so  whenever  I  was  at 
a  place  where  lace  was  made,  I  got  a  little  for  you." 

"Oh,  Sir  Thomas!" 

"  And  to-morrow  morning,  I  hope  I  will  be  able 
to  tell  you  something  about  a  companion  for  your 
journey.      Do  you  know  Mrs.  Foster?" 
"  No.     I  have  heard  of  her  only." 

He  seemed  on  the  point  of  going,  but  did  not  go 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  317 

until  Mrs.  Campbell  came  home.  Then  he  stayed 
to  lunch,  and  sat  chatting  with  the  two  ladies  until 
three  o'clock.  Even  then  he  seemed  reluctant  to 
go  away. 

"  Why  should  he  come  here  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning?  "  asked  Mrs.  Campbell,  when  Sir  Thomas 
had  finally  gone  away. 

"  Lady  Mary  is  too  ill  to  travel.  Sir  Thomas 
thinks  he  can  get  me  a  proper  companion.  If  not, 
mother,  I  shall  go  alone.  I  will  not  let  anything 
disappoint  me  again." 

"  You  will  be  talked  of  from  Dan  to  Beersheba." 

"T  shall  be  doing  nothing  wrong,  and  I  shall  be 
happy.  Let  them  talk." 

In  the  morning  Sir  Thomas  was  in  the  drawing- 
room  at  ten  o'clock,  and  Isabel,  in  a  pretty  -lavender 
lawn  gown,  went  with  a  smile  to  meet  him.  He 
looked  at  her  with  delight,  and  said:  "  I  have  found 
you  a  companion — one  that  will  take  the  greatest 
care  of  you.  It  is  myself.  I  will  trust  you  with  no 
one  else." 

"  But,  Sir  Thomas,"  and  she  attempted  to  draw 
her  hand  out  of  his. 

"  No,  no,"  he  said,  clasping  it  still  tighter.  "  Sit 
here  by  my  side,  and  listen  to  what  I  say.  I  love 
you  dearly,  wisely,  with  all  my  heart.  I  will  make 
you  Lady  Wynton  to-morrow,  if  you  desire  it,  and 
you  and  I — you  and  I — will  take  all  those  excellently 
planned  journeys  together.  We  will  travel  slowly 
and  comfortably,  luxuriously  when  we  can;  we  will 
see  everything  worth  seeing.  We  will  take  a  long, 


318  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

long  honeymoon  trip,  all  over  the  world.  Say  '  yes,' 
Isabel.  May  I  call  you  Isabel?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  My  Isabel." 

"  I  am  your  sincere  friend." 

"  My  wife !      I  want  you  for  my  wife." 

"  A  wedding  means  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  It 
would  keep  me  back." 

"  Not  an  hour.  We  will  meet  in  Dr.  Robertson's 
parlor,  each  with  a  friend  or  two.  My  carriage  will 
be  at  his  door,  and  as  soon  as  the  ceremony  is  over, 
we  will  drive  to  the  railway  station,  and  take  a  train 
for  London,  be  in  London  for  dinner,  and  ready 
next  day  to  start  Tour  No.  I,  first  landing-place 
St.  Petersburg;  eh,  dear?  Say  yes,  say  yes,  Isabel. 
Do!" 

And  how  could  Isabel  say  anything  but  "yes"? 
It  was  the  dream  of  her  life  coming  true. 

''  This  is  Wednesday,"  he  continued  joyfully, 
"what  do  you  say  to  next  Monday?  Can  you  be 
ready  for  Monday?" 

"  I  can  be  ready  by  Monday,  Sir  Thomas." 

"  We  will  drop  the  '  Sir,'  my  dear,  forever.  Now, 
I  will  go  and  arrange  with  Dr.  Robertson  for  the 
ceremony  at  nine  o'clock,  Monday  morning,  and  in 
the  meantime,  see  your  brother  about  the  necessary 
business  matters,  and  put  all  right  at  Wynton  village 
for  at  least  a  year's  stay.  For  after  London,  we 
will  follow  the  route  you  laid  out — nothing  could  be 
better." 

And  as  this  was  one  of  those  destined  marriages, 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  319 

that  may  be  delayed  but  cannot  be  prevented,  every 
particular  relating  to  it  went  as  desired.  Isabel  in 
a  pretty  travelling  suit,  with  her  mother  and  brother, 
was  at  Dr.  Robertson's  at  nine  o'clock  on  the  set 
Monday  morning,  and  found  Sir  Thomas  Wynton 
and  his  brother-in-law  and  sister,  Lord  and  Lady 
Morpeth,  waiting  for  them.  It  was  a  momentous 
interval  for  two  of  the  party,  but  soon  passed;  for 
in  twenty  minutes,  Isabel  received  the  congratula 
tions  due  to  her  as  Lady  Wynton,  and  then  amid 
smiles  and  good  wishes  she  began  with  her  husband 
their  long  wedding  trip,  of  all  over  the  world. 

"  It  is  the  last  of  my  Isabel,"  said  Mrs.  Campbell 
between  smiles  and  tears. 

"  No,"  answered  Robert,  "  it  is  the  beginning  of 
Isabel.  When  she  comes  back  we  shall  hardly  know 
her.  It  is  a  real  marriage;  they  will  improve  each 
other,"  and  he  turned  away  with  a  sigh. 

Mrs.  Campbell  had  really  no  occasion  for  tears. 
She  was  not  inclined  to  weep,  even  when  weeping 
would  have  been  in  order,  and  Isabel  had  not  lately 
been  notable,  either  as  a  help  or  a  comfort,  so  that 
her  mother  felt  it  no  trial  to  exchange  her  presence, 
for  the  pleasure  of  talking  of  her  dear  daughter, 
Lady  Wynton,  her  journeyings  and  her  experiences. 
There  was  also  the  returning  home  of  Christina,  the 
rearranging  of  Robert's  rooms  for  her  and  her  fam 
ily,  their  moving  into  them  and  settlement,  and  these 
things  engaged  her  warmest  interest.  She  felt  in 
deed  that  as  regarded  Robert's  rooms  falling  to 
Christina's  lot,  she  owed  Providence  a  handsome 


32O  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

acknowledgment.  They  had  been  prepared  at  an 
extravagant  cost  for  an  Englishwoman  and  a  stran 
ger,  but  had  come,  as  it  were,  naturally,  to  her  own 
daughter.  But  then  she  said:  "Providence  had 
always  looked  after  the  Campbells,  and  it  was  not 
likely  that  in  this  flagrant  case  Providence  would 
forget  its  duty." 

She  was  busy  from  morning  to  night  until  she 
had  the  new  family  under  the  same  roof  with  her, 
and  Robert  also  appeared  to  take  a  great  interest 
in  the  change.  He  was  very  generous  to  his  sister, 
and  gave  her  freely  all  the  beautiful  furniture  and 
ornaments  he  had  bought  for  Theodora,  even  the 
piano  would  know  her  touch  no  more.  All  the 
books,  music,  and  pretty  ornaments  and  embroideries 
she  had  accumulated  during  her  miserable  six  years 
of  married  life,  she  left  behind  her;  and  all  were 
given  to  Christina.  Christina  had  no  reluctance  in 
appropriating  them.  She  began  her  new  tenure  in 
Traquair  House  by  taking  everything  she  could  get, 
likely  to  add  to  her  comfort  or  pleasure. 

Robert  was  a  great  deal  about  the  house  while  the 
change  was  in  progress,  afterward  his  visits  de 
creased,  until  they  settled  into  the  Sunday  dinner 
with  his  family.  No  one  complained  of  his  absence. 
Christina  and  Rathey  introduced  a  new  life — a  life 
of  constant  visiting,  gaiety,  and  entertaining;  and 
Mrs.  Campbell  accepted  it  without  dissent.  Jamie 
Rathey  indeed  ruled  her  more  absolutely  than  he 
ruled  his  wife.  And  she  petted  him,  as  she  had 
never  petted  her  own  sons — ordered  luxuries  for  his 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  321 

eating,  gave  him  presents,  paid  his  bills,  and  excused 
all  his  extravagances. 

"  Between  Jamie  and  little  Margaret,  I  am  not 
my  own  woman  at  all,"  she  admitted,  and  as  time 
went  on,  it  was  difficult  to  say  which  of  these  two 
treated  her  with  the  most  tyrannical  affection. 

Two  erroneous  conclusions  are  likely  to  be  formed 
concerning  Robert  Campbell  on  this  unlocked  for 
transformation  of  life  in  Traquair  House — one,  that 
he  had  suddenly  developed  a  most  unusual  generosity, 
and  the  other,  that  he  had  forgotten  his  wife,  and 
become  resigned  to  her  loss.  Neither  of  these  con 
clusions  would  be  correct.  Few,  indeed,  of  our 
actions  ring  true  through  all  their  depths,  and  Rob 
ert's  generosity  to  his  sister  arose  from  a  desire  to 
make  his  own  life  more  bearable.  Those  lonely, 
lifeless,  deserted  rooms,  over  which  he  had  spent  so 
much  love  and  gold  filled  him  with  a  terror  he  hated 
to  face.  If  Christina  would  bring  into  them  life 
and  song,  and  the  voices  of  children,  perhaps  their 
haunting  misery  might  die  out  of  his  heart.  He 
could  not  prevent  Isabel  leaving  home,  but  he  did 
dread  the  house  with  no  one  but  his  mother  and  him 
self  in  it.  So  when  Christina  stepped  into  both 
dilemmas,  with  a  comfortable  solution,  he  felt  grate 
ful  to  her,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  give  her  things, 
and  pleasant  to  help  Jamie  Rathey,  and  to  see  the 
dark,  silent  house  alive  with  mirth  and  company, 
and  the  prattle  of  little  children. 

But  there  was  another  Robert  that  none  of  these 
things  touched,  who  in  fact  would  neither  see  them, 


322  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

nor  listen  to  them.  This  Robert  sat  hours  motion 
less  and  speechless,  dreaming  of  the  woman  he  still 
loved — longing  for  her  with  heartbreaking  accusa 
tions  and  remorse.  Oh,  to  hear  from  her!  Oh,  to 
see  her,  if  but  for  a  moment  I  Would  the  hour  for 
their  reconciliation  never,  never  come?  This  was 
the  faithful,  bitter  cry  of  his  best  nature,  as  raking 
in  the  ashes  of  memory,  he  made  of  his  lost  wife 
a  thousand  lovely  and  sorrowful  pictures.  And  this 
Robert  Campbell,  no  one  but  Robert's  angels,  and 
Robert's  God  knew. 

To  the  world  in  general  he  seemed  to  be  harder 
than  ever,  indifferent  to  all  interests  but  money-mak 
ing,  stripped  even  of  his  old  time  gloss  and  politeness, 
yielding  only  when  necessary  to  get  his  own  way. 
His  kindness  to  Christina  had  been  in  the  main  kind 
ness  to  himself,  and  the  ready  help  given  to  Jamie 
Rathey  was  the  result  of  several  selfish  reasons,  united 
with  that  singular  liking  which  men  occasionally  feel 
for  some  other  man  gifted  as  they  never  can  be — 
an  affection  doubtless  dating  from  some  life  anterior 
to  this  life.  With  these  exceptions,  Robert  Camp 
bell  was  the  old  Robert  Campbell,  a  little  older,  and 
a  little  rougher,  and  the  national  emblem  of  the 
repellent  Thistle,  with  its  churlish  command, 
"  Hands  of!  "  represented  him  very  fairly. 


CHAPTER  XII 

ROBERT  CAMPBELL  GOES  WOOING 

IT  will  not  now  be  difficult  for  any  one  to  construct 
in  their  imagination  the  life  in  Traquair  House  for 
the  next  two  years.  But  at  the  end  of  that  time,  a 
great  change  was  approaching,  and  the  bringer  of 
it  was  Isabel,  Lady  Wynton.  She  was  sitting  at  her 
husband's  side  one  afternoon,  in  the  office  or  foyer 
of  a  large  hotel  in  San  Francisco.  Sir  Thomas  was 
smoking  and  watching  with  her  the  constant  kaleido 
scope  of  humanity  passing  in  and  out.  They  were 
not  talking,  but  there  was  a  thorough,  though  silent 
sympathy  between  them.  Sometimes  Sir  Thomas 
looked  at  her  with  an  admiring  glance,  which  she 
answered  with  a  smile,  or  a  move  of  her  chair  closer 
to  him ;  but  her  attitude  was  that  of  a  woman  silently 
interested  and  satisfied.  It  was  the  old  Isabel  in 
a  repose,  informed,  vigilant,  and  conscious  of  a  per 
fect  communion  of  feeling. 

Suddenly  her  whole  appearance  changed.  She 
became  eager  and  watchful,  and  her  personality  ap 
peared  to  be  on  the  tiptoe  of  expectation.  With 
her  eyes  she  followed  every  movement  of  a  beautiful 
young  woman  attended  by  a  scholarly-looking  man, 
nearing  sixty  years  of  age.  The  couple  were  quickly 
joined  by  a  much  younger  man,  they  walked  with 
him  to  the  main  entrance,  stood  talking  a  few  min- 

323 


324  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

utes,  and  then  bid  him  farewell.  The  woman  and 
older  man  then  turned  back  into  the  hotel,  and  Lady 
Wynton  had  a  full  leisurely  look  at  them.  She  did 
not  recognize  the  man  at  all,  but  she  was  perfectly 
satisfied  as  to  the  identity  of  the  woman,  and  she 
stepped  hastily  forward,  crying  softly: 

"  Theodora,  Theodora  !  I  know  it  is  you.  I  have 
found  you  at  last.  Oh,  how  glad  I  am,  how  glad 
I  am!" 

"Isabel!" 

"  And  here  is  my  husband,  Dora." 

"  I  need  no  introduction,  Mrs.  Campbell,"  said 
Sir  Thomas,  with  smiling  courtesy.  "  I  remember 
you  perfectly,  though  you  have  been  growing 
younger,  instead  of  older." 

Theodora  quickly  introduced  her  father,  leaving 
him  with  Sir  Thomas  while  she  and  Lady  Wynton 
went  to  the  Wyntons'  parlor  for  conversation.  "  I 
must  write  Robert  at  once,"  said  Lady  Wynton.  "  It 
will  be  such  a  wonderful  thing  to  him,  for  I  am  sure 
he  has  given  up  all  hope  of  ever  seeing  you  again, 
Dora.  Two  years  ago  he  left  Traquair  House; 
he  could  not  endure  his  empty  lonely  rooms  any 
longer." 

"  Poor,  dark,  sad  rooms !  I  try  to  forget  them 
also." 

'  They  are  not  dark  and  empty  now,  Christina 
and  her  husband  and  babies  are  living  in  them,  and 
they  make  them  livery  enough,  I  have  no  doubt." 

A  shadow  passed  over  Theodora's  face,  and  she 
did  not  speak  for  a  few  moments.  Then  she  asked: 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  325 

"  What  was  done  with  the  furniture  and  the  things 
I  used  to  believe  were  mine?  " 

"  Christina  wrote  me  that  Robert  had  given  every 
thing  in  the  rooms  to  her." 

"  How  kind  of  him !  "  There  was  a  little  scorn 
in  her  voice,  and  she  asked,  "  What  about  my  piano, 
and  my  music?  " 

"  Oh,  Theodora,  you  must  not  feel  hurt.  Poor 
Robert!  He  was  nearly  broken-hearted.  He  never 
expected  to  see  you.  He  had  spent  a  fortune  on 
detectives,  who  looked  all  over  Europe  for  you.  One 
night  I  sat  with  him,  and  I  really  thought  he  was 
insane.  He  acted  like  it." 

"  But  he  gave  my  piano  and  music  away." 

"  I  suppose  he  could  not  bear  to  see  them — and 
you  had  left  them,  you  know." 

"  Isabel,  he  gave  me  that  piano  as  a  birthday  gift, 
one  week  before  we  were  married;  but  then,  of 
course,  he  took  it  back  after  the  ceremony.  He  told 
me  once  my  wedding  ring  was  his  property,  and  that 
he  could  sell  the  very  hair  off  my  head  if  he  chose 
to  do  so." 

"  He  must  have  been  in  a  vile  temper  to  say  such 
things.  Legally,  I  suppose  he  was  right,  but  no 
good  man  ever  does  such  things." 

"  But  if  a  woman  has  the  ill-fortune  to  marry  a 
bad  man?  and  many  women  innocently  do  this, 
then " 

"Then  what?" 

"If  she  has  any  self-respect,  she  emancipates  her 
self  from  such  a  condition  of  slavery." 


326  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Are  you  still  angry  at  Robert?  " 

"  I  never  was  angry  at  him.  He  was  only  the 
rock  on  which  my  love  bark  struck,  and  went  down." 

"How  is  David?" 

"  Come  home  with  me,  and  see  him.  We  shall 
be  home  for  supper,  and  it  is  about  time  we  were 
leaving." 

"  Both  Sir  Thomas  and  I  will  come  with  you 
gladly." 

For  nearly  ten  miles  their  road  lay  through  a  de 
lightful  country,  and  just  at  the  darkening  ended 
in  a  plateau  among  some  foothills.  A  number  of 
white  houses  were  scattered  over  it,  and  towards  one 
of  these  Theodora  drove  her  carriage.  They  entered 
an  inclosure  studded  with  forest  trees,  and  kept  in 
fine  order;  and  as  they  neared  the  dwelling,  came 
into  a  lovely  garden  full  of  all  kinds  of  flowers  and 
fruits.  The  house  was  square  and  large,  surrounded 
by  deep  piazzas,  and  covered  to  the  chimney-tops 
with  flowering  vines,  chiefly  with  jasmine  and  pas 
sion  flowers.  On  either  side  of  the  wide  hall  there 
were  cool,  large  parlors,  and  from  its  centre  rose 
the  white  stairway  leading  to  the  upper  rooms — and 
everywhere  there  was  an  indefinable  sense  of  peace 
and  comfort. 

"What  a  beautiful  home!  What  a  heavenly 
place!  "  cried  Isabel,  and  Theodora  answered: 

"  My  father  bought  it  when  we  first  came.  We 
have  lived  here  ever  since.  It  is  beautiful.  The 
sun  shines  on  it,  the  winds  blow  through  it,  in  every 
room  there  is  happiness  and  peace.  You  were  ask- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  327 

ing  about  David,"  she  said  in  a  tone  of  exultation, 
"  here  he  comes !  "  and  they  went  to  the  window 
and  watched  his  approach.  He  was  riding  a  fine, 
spirited  horse,  and  riding  like  Jehu  the  son  of  Nim- 
shi,  who  doubtless  rode — as  well  as  drove — furi 
ously. 

"  How  wonderfully  he  rides,  Dora." 

"  David  can  do  anything  with  a  horse,  or  a  rifle, 
and  he  is  so  strong,  and  tall,  you  would  think  him 
much  older  than  he  is.  Come,  we  will  go  down 
and  have  supper,  and  let  unpleasant  memories  die." 

For  two  weeks  the  Wyntons  stayed  with  Mr.  New 
ton — two  weeks  of  perfect  delight  to  them.  They 
visited  various  lovely  towns  along  the  coast,  they 
hunted,  and  fished,  and  talked,  the  women  of  house 
hold  things,  and  family  affairs — the  two  men  of  their 
college  days,  and  sports,  and  poetry;  Sir  Thomas 
quoting  the  Greek  poets,  and  Mr.  Newton  the  Eng 
lish,  old  and  new.  In  the  evenings,  Theodora  played 
and  sang,  and  David  recited  stirring  lines  from  "  The 
Lady  of  the  Lake  "  and  other  works.  Night  and 
day  followed  each  other  so  happily  and  so  quickly, 
that  the  week  promised  became  two  weeks,  without 
notice  or  protest. 

No  letter  during  this  time  had  been  sent  to  Robert. 
Theodora  insisted  on  this  point.  "  I  do  not  like 
letters,  Isabel,"  she  said.  "  They  say  too  much,  or 
too  little.  When  you  see  Robert,  tell  him  what  your 
eyes  have  seen,  and  your  ears  heard — just  the  plain 
truth — and  leave  him  to  act  on  it,  as  he  wishes." 

"  Then  remember,  Dora,  that  we  are  not  intend- 


328  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

ing  to  hurry  home.  We  shall  remain  a  few  days 
at  Salt  Lake  City,  Denver,  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  and 
of  course  visit  Niagara.  It  may  be  a  month  before 
we  reach  New  York.  You  must  give  us  five  or  six 
weeks  before  we  reach  Liverpool,  and  so  do  not 
lay  the  blame  of  our  loitering  to  Robert's  indiffer 
ence.  Be  patient." 

"  I  have  been  four  years  without  a  word.  You 
see  that  I  am  neither  impatient  nor  unhappy." 

"  Tell  me,  Dora,  who  was  that  dark,  handsome 
man  you  seemed  so  much  at  home  with  in  the  hotel  ? 
I  am  curious  about  him.  He  appeared  to  be  so 
familiar  with  your  father  and  yourself." 

"  He  is  a  neighbor.  His  house  is  about  two  miles 
from  ours.  The  two  eldest  girls  you  saw  reading 
and  singing  with  me  are  his  daughters.  I  am  educat 
ing  them  with  the  three  younger  girls,  who  are  the 
only  children  of  a  neighbor  in  another  direction." 

"  He  seemed  very  fond  of  you — I  mean  the  man 
at  the  hotel." 

"  He  is  a  good  friend.  He  spends  much  time 
with  my  father.  When  he  bid  us  good-bye,  he  was 
going  to  his  mining  property.  That  is  the  reason 
you  have  not  seen  him.  Had  he  been  at  home,  he 
would  have  made  your  visit  here  much  pleas- 
anter." 

'  Then  I  think  we  should  never  have  got  away. 
What  a  book  full  I  shall  have  to  tell  Robert?  I 
wish  I  was  home.  It  will  be  good  to  see  the  light 
come  into  his  sad  face,  when  I  say,  '  Robert,  I  have 
found  Theodora ! '  " 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  329 

*'  Say  nothing  to  influence  him,  one  way  or  the 
other.  His  own  heart  must  urge  him  to  seek  me,  or 
he  will  never  find  me.  It  is  a  long  journey  to  take, 
for  a  disappointment." 

"  He  will  doubtless  write  to  you  at  once." 

"  I  should  take  no  notice  of  a  letter." 

"Why?" 

"  I  have  learned  that  a  woman  who  lets  slip  the 
slightest  respect  which  is  due  her,  invites,  and  per 
haps  deserves  the  contempt  she  gets." 

"  Sir  Thomas  is  very  respectful  to  me,  Dora." 

"  And  very  kind  and  loving.  And  you  must  know 
that  you  are  much  handsomer  than  you  were  before 
your  marriage.  You  converse  better,  your  manner 
is  dignified  yet  gracious,  your  dress  is  rich,  and  in 
fine  taste,  and  the  touch  of  gray  in  your  abundant 
black  hair  is  exceedingly  becoming  to  you.  You  are 
a  fortunate  woman." 

"  But,  Dora,  remember  how  long  I  waited  for 
good  fortune.  I  am  in  real  living  only  two  years 
old;  all  the  years  before  my  marriage  were  blank 
and  dreary.  I  am  forty  years  of  age  according  to 
my  birth  date,  and  I  have  lived  two,  out  of  the 
forty." 

"  Thank  God  for  the  two  years !  " 

"I  do.  We  both  do.  Sir  Thomas  is  very  re 
ligious." 

At  length  the  Wyntons  departed,  and  when  Theo 
dora  had  made  her  last  adieu,  and  watched  their 
carriage  out  of  sight,  she  turned  to  her  mother,  who 
stood  pale  and  depressed  at  her  side. 


330  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  I  am  glad  the  visit  is  over.  It  has  been  some 
thing  of  a  trial  to  you,  mother — and  to  me  also." 

"  The  last  week  I  was  a  little  weary.  But  father 
and  David  enjoyed  it,  so  it  does  not  matter." 

"  Yes,  it  does  matter.  The  men  in  a  house  should 
not  be  made  happy  at  the  cost  of  the  women's  ex 
haustion." 

"How  soon  do  you  expect  your  husband?" 

"  Not  for  eight  weeks — it  may  be  longer,  and  it 
may  be  never." 

"  Do  you  love  him  at  all  now?  " 

"  I  love  the  Robert  who  wooed  and  married  me, 
as  much  as  ever  I  did;  the  Robert  of  the  last  five  or 
six  years,  I  do  not  wish  to  see  again.  I  have  been 
away  from  him  four  years,  and  I  cannot  hope  that 
his  manner  of  life  has  improved  him." 

"How  has  he  lived?" 

"  From  what  Isabel  told  me,  I  should  say  his 
family  had  full  dominion  over  him  for  two  years; 
the  result  being  the  tearing  to  pieces  of  the  home  he 
made  for  me,  and  the  handing  over  to  his  sister  every 
thing  that  was  mine.  The  last  two  years  he  has 
lived  a  solitary  life  at  his  club,  no  doubt  self-in 
dulgent,  self-centred,  and  self-sufficient." 

"  Theodora,  no  one  but  God  knows  anything  about 
Robert.  He  would  show  himself  to  no  one — I  mean 
his  real  self.  Do  not  judge  him  on  the  partial  evi 
dence  of  his  sister.  She  would  look  no  further  than 
his  words  and  actions." 

"  I  wish  I  had  heard  nothing  about  him.  I 
thought  he  was  out  of  my  life  forever." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  331 

"  Do  not  let  the  matter  disturb  you,  until  you  are 
compelled  to.  Grace  for  the  need  is  sure.  No 
where  have  I  seen,  grace  before  the  need  promised." 

"  You  are  right,  mother,  we  will  go  on  with  our 
lives  just  as  if  this  visit  had  never  happened.  I  will 
neither  hope  nor  doubt.  I  will  do  my  day's  work, 
and  leave  all  with  God." 

So  the  Newton  House  went  back  to  its  calm  routine, 
and  Theodora  taught  and  wrote,  and  helped  her 
mother  with  her  housekeeping,  and  her  father  with 
copying  his  manuscripts,  and  her  boy  with  his  lessons, 
and  the  days  passed  into  weeks,  and  the  weeks  into 
months,  and  the  promise  of  Robert's  coming  became 
as  a  dream  when  one  awakeneth. 

Yet  all  was  proceeding  surely,  if  leisurely,  to  the 
appointed  end.  In  about  eight  weeks,  the  Wyntons 
arrived  in  London,  and  following  their  usual  habit 
delayed  and  delayed  there,  for  a  whole  week  before 
starting  for  Scotland.  But  once  at  Wynton  Castle, 
Isabel  felt  freed  from  her  promise  of  silence,  and  she 
wrote  to  Robert  a  few  days  after  her  return  home, 
the  following  note: 

"  DEAR  ROBERT: — We  reached  home  four  days 
ago,  and  found  everything  in  perfect  order.  I  hope 
mother  and  Christina  and  you  yourself  are  well.  I 
am  in  fine  health,  never  was  better.  When  we  were 
in  California  I  came  unexpectedly  upon  Theodora. 
We  stayed  two  weeks  with  her,  very  pleasant  weeks, 
and  if  you  will  come  to  Wynton  as  soon  as  con 
venient,  we  shall  be  glad  to  see  you  and  tell  you 


332  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

all  about  your  wife  and  child.  You  need  have  no 
anxiety  about  them.  They  could  not  be  happier. 
Give  my  love  and  duty  to  mother,  and  tell  Christina 
I  have  a  few  pretty  things  for  her. 

"  Your  loving  sister, 

"  ISABEL." 

Robert  found  this  letter  beside  his  dinner  plate, 
and  after  he  had  taken  his  soup  he  deliberately 
opened  it.  He  knew  it  was  Isabel's  writing,  and 
the  post-marks  showed  him  she  was  at  home  again. 
He  knew  also  that  it  would  contain  an  invitation  to 
Wynton,  and  before  he  was  sure  of  it,  he  made  a 
vow  to  himself  that  he  would  not  go. 

"  Sir  Thomas  will  prose  about  the  persons  and 
places  he  has  seen,  and  Isabel  will  smile  and  admire 
him,  and  I  shall  have  to  be  congratulatory  and  say 
a  hundred  things  I  do  not  want  to  say.  I  do  not 
care  a  farthing  for  Sir  Thomas  and  his  partnership 
now,  and  I  will  not  have  his  patronage."  Thus 
he  talked  to  himself,  as  he  opened  the  letter,  and 
gave  his  order  for  boiled  mutton  and  caper  sauce. 

When  the  mutton  came  he  could  not  taste  it.  He 
looked  dazed  and  shocked,  and  the  waiter  asked: 
"Are  you  ill,  sir?" 

'  Yes,"  was  the  answer.  "  Give  me  a  glass  of 
wine." 

The  wine  did  not  help  him,  and  he  lifted  the  letter 
and  went  to  his  room.  There  he  threw  himself  upon 
the  bed  and  lay  motionless  for  an  hour.  He  was 
not  thinking,  he  could  not  think;  he  was  gathering 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  333 

his  forces  physical  and  mental  together,  to  enable 
him  to  overcome  the  shock  of  Isabel's  news,  and 
decide  on  his  future  course. 

For  the  information  which  Isabel  had  given  him 
in  a  very  prosaic  way  had  shaken  the  foundations  of 
his  life,  though  he  could  not  for  awhile  tell  whether 
he  regarded  it  as  welcome,  or  unwelcome.  But  as 
he  began  to  recognize  its  import,  and  its  conse 
quences,  his  feelings  were  certainly  not  those  of  pleas 
ure,  nor  even  of  satisfaction.  He  had  rid  himself 
of  all  the  encumbrances  Theodora  had  left  behind 
her.  He  had  given  his  home  away  and  reduced  the 
obligations  to  his  kindred  to  a  minimum,  for  a  visit 
once  a  week  satisfied  his  mother  and  Christina;  and 
if  he  missed  a  week,  no  one  complained  or  asked 
for  the  reason.  At  his  club  he  was  well  served,  all 
his  likes  and  dislikes  were  studied  and  pandered  to. 
There  was  no  quarrelling  at  the  club,  no  injured 
wife,  no  sick  child,  no  troublesome  servants.  He 
was  leading  a  life  that  suited  him,  why  should  he 
change  it  for  Theodora  ? 

If  Theodora  had  been  in  poverty  and  suffering,  he 
felt  sure  he  would  have  had  no  hesitation,  he  would 
have  hurried  to  her  side,  but  a  Theodora  happy, 
handsome,  and  prosperous,  was  a  different  problem. 
Why  had  she  not  sent  him  a  letter  by  Isabel?  She 
must  have  known,  that  Isabel  would  certainly  reveal 
her  residence,  why  then  did  she  not  do  it  herself? 
"  She  ought  to  have  written  to  me,"  he  muttered, 
"  it  was  her  duty,  and  until  she  does,  I  will  not  take 
any  notice  of  Isabel's  information." 


334  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

With  this  determination  he  fell  into  an  uneasy 
sleep,  and  lo,  when  he  awoke,  he  was  in  quite  a 
different  mood!  Theodora,  in  her  most  bewitching 
and  pathetic  moods,  was  stirring  his  memory,  and  he 
said  softly,  yet  with  an  eager  passion :  "  I  must  go 
where  Dora  is!  I  must  go  to  her!  I  cannot  go 
too  quickly!  I  will  see  Isabel  to-day,  and  get  all 
necessary  information  from  her." 

He  found  Isabel  enthusiastically  ready  to  hasten 
him.  She  described  the  Newton  home — its  beauty, 
comfort,  peace,  and  happiness.  She  went  into  italics 
about  David — he  was  a  young  prince  among  boys  of 
his  age.  He  rode  wondrously,  he  could  do  any 
thing  with  a  rifle  that  a  rifle  was  made  for,  he  was 
a  good  English  scholar  for  his  age,  and  was  learning 
Latin  and  German.  She  said  his  grandfather  was 
his  tutor,  and  that  the  two  were  hardly  ever  apart. 

At  this  point  Robert  had  a  qualm  of  jealousy. 
The  boy  was  his  boy,  and  he  ought  to  be  with  him, 
and  not  with  his  grandfather.  He  was  defrauded 
on  every  side.  He  said  passionately,  he  would  go 
for  the  boy,  and  bring  him  home  at  any  rate;  and 
Isabel  told  him  plainly  it  could  not  be  done.  "  And 
as  for  Theodora,"  she  continued,  "  she  looks  younger 
and  lovelier  than  when  you  married  her.  You  should 
see  her  in  white  lawn  with  flowers  on  her  breast, 
or  in  her  wonderful  hair;  or  still  better,  on  horse 
back,  with  David  riding  at  her  side.  Oh,  Robert! 
You  never  knew  the  lovely  Theodora  of  to 
day." 

"  If  she  had  any  lover,"  he  said  slowly,  "  if  she 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  335 

had  any  lover,  you  would  have  discovered  that  fact, 
Isabel?" 

"Lover!  That  is  nonsense.  Her  time  and  in 
terests  are  taken  up  with  her  teaching,  writing,  and 
her  care  of  her  child.  She  is  educating  five  girls, 
daughters  of  wealthy  men  living  near,  and  she  has 
published  one  novel,  and  is  writing  another;  and 
she  helps  Mr.  Newton  with  his  manuscripts,  and 
Mrs.  Newton  with  her  house.  She  is  as  busy  as 
she  is  happy.  We  stayed  two  weeks  with  her,  and 
I  saw  no  one  like  a  lover.  I  do  remember  at  the 
hotel  where  I  first  saw  her,  there  was  a  very  hand 
some  dark  man,  who  seemed  to  be  on  the  most 
friendly,  even  familiar  terms  with  both  Theodora 
and  Mr.  Newton.  I  asked  her  once  who  the  man 
was,  and  she  said  he  was  a  neighbor,  and  that  she 
was  educating  his  two  daughters.  Then  I  asked 
if  he  was  likely  to  call  and  she  told  me  he  had  gone 
to  his  mine,  and  that  was  the  reason  we  had  not 
seen  him  every  day.  She  said  she  was  sorry  it  had 
so  happened,  because  he  would  have  made  our  visit 
much  pleasanter." 

"  No  doubt,"  he  answered.  "  Much  pleasanter, 
of  course.  Thank  you,  Isabel.  I  owe  you  more 
than  I  can  ever  pay.  I  shall  go  to  San  Francisco, 
and  see  with  my  own  eyes  how  things  are." 

"  You  will  see  nothing  wrong,  Robert.  Be  sure 
of  that.  Dora  is  as  good  as  she  is  beautiful.  I 
did  not  love  her  when  I  thought  her  an  intruder 
into  my  home,  but  in  her  own  home,  she  is  adorable. 
Every  one  loves  her." 


336  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  I  object  to  every  one  loving  her.  She  is  mine. 
I  am  going  to  bring  her  to  her  own  home — where  she 
ought  to  be." 

He  would  not  remain  to  dinner.  He  was  in  haste 
to  reach  a  solitude  in  which  he  could  commune  with 
his  own  heart.  For  Isabel's  words  had  roused  a 
fiery  jealousy  of  his  wife,  and  he  had  suddenly  re 
membered  his  mother's  first  question  when  she  heard 
of  Theodora's  flight:  "  Has  she  gone  with  that  black- 
a-visored  dandy  staying  at  the  Oliphants'  ?  "  He  had 
then  scornfully  denied  the  supposition — had  felt  as 
if  it  was  hardly  worth  denying.  But  at  this  hour,  it 
assumed  an  importance  that  tortured  him.  His 
mother  had  called  him  black-a-visored,  and  Isabel 
had  called  him  dark.  The  two  were  the  same  man, 
and  this  conviction  came  with  that  infallible  assur 
ance,  that  turns  a  suspicion  into  a  truth,  beyond  in 
quiry  or  doubt. 

He  got  back  to  Glasgow — he  hardly  knew  how. 
He  was  a  little  astonished  to  find  himself  there.  But 
something,  held  in  abeyance  while  he  was  out  of 
the  city,  returned  to  him  the  moment  he  felt  his 
feet  on  the  wet  pavements,  and  breathed  the  foggy 
atmosphere.  He  knew  himself  again  as  Robert 
Campbell,  and  with  an  accented  display  of  his  per 
sonality  went  into  the  discreet,  non-observant  refuge 
of  his  club.  He  was  hungry,  and  he  eat;  in  a  whirl 
of  intense  feeling,  and  he  drank  to  steady  himself. 
Then  he  went  to  see  his  mother.  He  wanted  a 
few  words  with  her,  about  "  the  black-a-visored 
dandy." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  337 

He  found  Traquair  House  topsy-turvy.  Chris 
tina  was  giving  a  dance  and  there  was  no  privacy 
anywhere,  but  in  his  mother's  room.  She  was  dressed 
for  the  occasion,  and  wearing  her  pearl  and  diamond 
ornaments,  and  he  had  a  moment's  surprise  and 
pleasure  in  her  appearance. 

"  Christina  is  giving  a  bit  dance,"  she  said  apolo 
getically,  "  and  the  house  is  at  sixes  and  sevens.  It 
is  the  way  o'  young  things.  They  must  turn  every 
thing  upside  down.  You  look  badly,  Robert. 
What's  wrong  wi'  you?  " 

"  I  have  found  Theodora." 

"  No  wonder  you  look  miserable.    Where  is  she?  " 

"  In  California." 

"  Just  the  place  for  the  like  o'  her.  It  is  not 
past  my  memory,  Robert,  when  the  scum  o'  the  whole 
earth  was  running  there.  She  did  right  to  go  where 
she  belongs." 

"  Hush,  mother !  The  Wyntons  have  been  stay 
ing  with  her  for  two  weeks — and  they  were  well 
entertained.  She  has  a  beautiful  home,  Isabel  says." 

"  Have  you  seen  Isabel?  " 

"  For  an  hour  or  two.     She  sent  her  love  to  you." 

"  She  can  keep  it.  If  it  isn't  worth  bringing,  it 
isn't  worth  having." 

"  Mother,  you  once  spoke  to  me  of  a  dark  man 
staying  at  the  Oliphants',  and  asked  if  Theodora 
had  gone  away  with  him.  What  made  you  ask  that 
question?  " 

'  Weel,  Robert,  she  was  always  flitting  quiet-like 
between  this  house  and  the  Oliphants' ;  and  twice  he 


338  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

walked  with  her  to  the  top  o'  the  street,  and  they 
were  a  gey  long  time  in  holding  hands,  and  saying 
good-bye." 

"  Why  did  you  not  tell  me  then?  " 

"  I  wanted  to  let  the  cutty  tak'  her  run,  and  to 
see  how  far  she  would  go.  I  had  my  een  on  her." 

"  I  feel  sure  he  is  living  near  her,  in  California." 

"  Very  close,  indeed,  no  doubt  o'  that — pitying 
and  comforting  her.  Why  don't  you  do  your  own 
pitying?"  she  asked  scornfully. 

"  I  am  going  to  California  to-morrow." 

"  Don't !  You'll  get  yoursel'  shot,  or  tarred  and 
feathered,  or  maybe  lynched.  Those  West  Amer 
icans  are  an  unbidable  lot;  they  are  a  law  to  them 
selves,  and  a  very  bad  law,  generally  speaking.  Bide 
at  hame,  and  save  your  life.  What  for  will  you  go 
seeking  sorrow?  " 

"  I  want  my  son.  Isabel  says  he  is  a  very  prince 
among  boys  of  his  age." 

"  No  doubt  o'  it.  There's  enough  Campbell  in 
him  to  set  him  head  and  shoulders  over  ordinary 
lads.  But  you  send  men  now,  that  you  know  where 
to  send  them,  and  let  them  get  the  lad  away.  They'll 
either  coax  or  carry  him." 

"  I  want  to  see  Theodora." 

"If  you  have  a  thimbleful  o'  sense,  let  her  alone. 
Old  love  is  a  dangerous  thing  to  touch.  She'll  gie 
you  the  heartache  o'  the  world  again,  and  you'll  be 
down  at  her  feet  for  comfort." 

"  Did  I  ever  down  at  her  feet  for  anything?  " 

"  If  you  are  tired  o'  freedom,  and  easy  days,  tak' 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  339 

yoursel'  to  California.  And  what  about  the  works, 
while  you  are  seeking  dool  and  sorrow  ?  " 

"  I  shall  only  be  gone  about  six  weeks." 

"  Fiddlesticks !  You  are  going  into  captivity — 
settle  your  business  before  you  go,  and  see  that  you 
don't  forget  your  mother  and  sisters'  bed  and  board 
is  in  it." 

"  I  shall  be  back  in  six  weeks.  Good-bye,  mother. 
Give  my  love  to  Christina  and  Jamie,  I  will  not 
trouble  them  now." 

"  They  are  full  o'  their  ain  to-do  at  the  present. 
I'll  gie  them  your  message.  Good-bye,  and  see  you 
are  home,  ere  I  send  after  you." 

He  went  hastily  downstairs,  and  could  hardly  be 
lieve  he  was  walking  through  Traquair  House. 
Pretty  girls  in  dancing  dresses  were  constantly  pass 
ing  him,  young  men  were  standing  about  in  groups 
laughing  and  talking,  and  there  was  the  sound  of 
fiddles  tuning  up  in  the  distance.  It  was  all  so  un 
natural  that  it  affected  him  like  the  phantasmal  back 
ground  of  a  dream.  And  he  was  suffering  as  he 
had  never  before  suffered  in  all  his  life,  for  jealousy, 
that  brutal,  overwhelming  passion,  had  seized  him, 
and  he  was  in  a  fire  constantly  growing  fiercer. 
Every  thought  he  now  had  of  Theodora  fed  it,  and 
he  hastened  to  his  club  and  locked  himself  in  his 
room.  It  was  clear  to  him,  that  he  must  reach  San 
Francisco  by  the  swiftest  means  possible.  In  his 
condition,  he  felt  delay  might  mean  severe  illness,  if 
not  insanity. 

On  the  third  morning  after  this   determination, 


340  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

when  he  awoke  he  was  out  of  sight  of  land.  The 
wind  was  high,  and  the  sea  rough,  but  he  was  not 
sick,  and  the  tumult  of  the  elements  suited  his  mood 
very  well.  He  made  no  friends,  and  his  trouble  had 
such  a  strong  personality,  that  many  divined  its  rea 
son. 

"  He  looks  as  if  he  was  after  a  runaway  wife," 
said  one  man,  and  his  companion  answered:  "  I  do 
not  envy  the  fellow  who  has  run  away  with  her,  he 
will  get  no  mercy  from  yonder  husband,  and  as  for 
the  wife!" 

"God  help  her!" 

"  It  is  Campbell  of  the  Campbell  Iron  Works  near 
Glasgow,"  said  a  third.  "  I  never  heard  that  he 
had  a  wife.  I  shouldn't  think  he  would  care  for 
one.  He  lives  only  for  those  black,  blasted  furnaces. 
He  is  happy  enough  among  their  slag  and  cinders, 
and  smoke  and  flame.  The  country  round  them  is 
like  Gehenna,  but  it  suits  him  better  than  green  pas 
tures  and  still  waters.  He  isn't  such  a  big  man 
physically,  but  when  he  is  marching  round  among 
his  workers,  ordering  this,  and  abusing  that,  you 
would  think  he  was  ten  feet  high,  and  the  men  are 
sure  of  it.  But  Campbell  isn't  a  bad  fellow  take 
him  by  and  long;  he  goes  to  Kirk  regular,  and  when 
he  feels  like  giving,  gives  with  both  hands." 

'  We  might  ask  him  to  join  us  in  a  game  of  whist." 

"  Nay,  we  had  better  let  him  alone.  I  think  some 
American  has  maybe  stolen  one  o'  his  patents,  or 
got  ahead  o'  him  in  some  way  or  other;  and  he  is 
going  to  have  it  out  with  him  face  to  face — that 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  341 

would  be  like  Robert  Campbell.  He  is  in  a  fighting 
mood  anyway,  and  he  wouldn't  help  our  pleasure; 
far  from  it." 

This  opinion  seemed  the  general  one,  so  on  the 
voyage  he  made  no  acquaintances,  and  when  the 
steamer  reached  New  York,  he  went  directly  from 
her  to  the  railway  station,  and  bought  a  ticket  for 
San  Francisco.  His  train  was  nearly  ready,  and 
in  half-an-hour  he  was  speeding  westwards.  For 
a  few  days  he  noticed  nothing,  but  after  he  had 
passed  St.  Louis,  he  began  to  be  astonished,  and  even 
slightly  terrified  at  the  immense  space  separating  him 
from  all  he  knew  and  loved.  Often  he  had  an 
urgent  feeling  that  he  must  at  once  turn  back,  and 
he  might  have  done  so,  if  a  still  stronger  feeling 
had  not  urged  him  forward.  A  journey  from  Lon 
don  to  Edinburgh  had  always  appeared  to  him  a  long 
one,  and  he  had  even  felt  Sheffield  very  far  from 
Scotland;  but  the  vastness  of  the  present  journey 
stupefied  him.  Before  he  reached  San  Francisco,  he 
was  subject  to  attacks  of  sentiment  about  his  native 
city  and  country.  He  felt  that  he  might  never  see 
them  again. 

But  the  end  came  at  last,  and  San  Francisco  itself 
was  the  climax  to  all  his  wanderings.  What  could 
induce  men  to  travel  to  the  extremity  of  creation, 
and  then  build  there  a  city  so  large  and  so  splendid  ? 
How  could  they  live  and  trade  and  make  money 
so  far  from  London  and  Paris  and  the  centre  of 
the  civilized  world?  He  went  to  the  hotel  at  which 
his  sister  had  stayed,  and  was  obliged  to  admit  that 


342  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

neither  Glasgow,  London,  nor  Paris  had  anything  to 
rival  its  luxury  and  splendor.  He  began  to  be  inter 
ested.  He  thought  it  might  be  worth  while  to  dress 
a  little  for  dinner. 

For  to  a  man  as  insular  in  mind  as  Robert  Camp 
bell,  the  scene  was  amazing.  He  could  have  gone 
every  day  for  fifty  years  to  Glasgow  Exchange,  and 
never  witnessed  anything  like  its  cosmopolitan  va 
riety.  There  did  not  seem  to  be  two  persons  alike 
in  nationality,  caste,  or  occupation.  Even  the  Amer 
icans  present  were  as  diverse  as  the  states  from  which 
they  came.  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  it  struck 
Robert  Campbell,  that  Scotchmen  might  not  possibly 
be  the  dominant  race  in  all  the  world's  great  business 
thoroughfares. 

He  forgot  his  absorbing  trouble  for  awhile,  or 
at  least  it  blended  itself  with  elements  that  diluted 
and  even  changed  its  character.  Thus,  he  began 
to  fancy  Theodora  in  her  loveliest,  proudest  mood 
walking  through  this  motley  crowd.  How  would 
she  regard  him  in  it?  How  would  the  crowd  re 
gard  her?  He  was  busy  with  this  question,  when 
his  attention  was  attracted  by  a  man  who  reminded 
him  of  something  known  and  familiar.  "  He  at 
least  has  the  look  of  a  Scotchman,"  he  mused.  "  I 
must  have  seen  him  before  somewhere."  If  he  had 
kept  any  memory  of  his  own  face  and  figure,  per 
haps  he  might  have  traced  the  resemblance  home. 
But  often  as  we  look  in  our  mirrors,  who  does  not 
straightway  forget  what  manner  of  man,  or  woman, 
they  are? 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  343 

For  the  stranger  who  had  been  able  to  interest 
Robert  Campbell  was  his  brother  David.  He  was 
talking  earnestly  to  two  men  whom  Robert  could  not 
classify.  They  wore  no  coats,  or  vests,  and  the 
wide,  strong  leather  belts  with  which  they  were 
girdled  had  somehow  a  formidable  look;  for  though 
quite  innocent  of  offensive  weapons,  they  appeared 
to  promise  or  threaten  them.  David  was  evidently 
their  superior,  perhaps  their  employer,  but  there  was 
a  kind  of  equality  unconsciously  exhibited  which  Rob 
ert  wondered  at,  and  did  not  approve.  He  felt 
that  under  no  circumstances  would  he  have  been  seen 
talking  familiarly  to  men  so  manifestly  of  the  lower 
classes. 

But  when  they  went  away,  David  shook  hands  with 
them  and  then  stood  still  a  moment  as  if  undecided 
about  his  next  movement;  and  Robert  watched  him 
so  fixedly,  that  he  probably  compelled  his  brother's 
attention.  For  he  suddenly  lifted  his  eyes,  and  they 
met  Robert's  eyes,  and  his  face  brightened,  and  he 
walked  rapidly  forward,  till  he  placed  his  hands  on 
Robert's  shoulders,  and  with  a  glad  smile  cried : 

"  Robert,  Robert  Campbell !  Don't  you  know 
me,  Robert?  Don't  you  know  me?  " 

And  Robert  gazing  into  his  eager  face  answered 
slowly:  "Are  you  David — my  brother?  Are  you 
David  Campbell,  my  brother  David?" 

"Sit  down,  dear  ladl  I  am  David  Campbell. 
Sure  as  death,  I  am  your  brother  David.  Get  your 
self  together,  and  we  will  go  and  have  dinner.  You 
look  as  if  you  were  going  to  faint — why,  Robert!  " 


344  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  I  forgot  dinner.  I  have  had  nothing  to-day 
but  a  cup  of  coffee.  Oh,  David,  David!  what  a 
Providence  you  are!  How  did  you  happen  in 
here?" 

"  I  came  to  watch  for  you.  I  have  been  coming 
every  day  for  three  weeks.  Can  you  walk  a  few 
steps  now?  You  are  requiring  food.  What  made 
you  forget  to  eat?  " 

"  Trouble,  great  trouble — crazy  love,  and  crazy 
jealousy.  My  wife  and  my  child  have  left 
me!" 

"  I  know." 

"  How  do  you  know?  " 

"  They  are  my  dearest  neighbors." 

"  Then  you  saw  Isabel?  " 

"  I  did  not.  I  was  at  the  mine,  but  Theodora 
told  me  all  about  her  visit,  and  as  I  knew  Isabel 
would  tell  you  where  your  wife  and  child  were  living, 
I  have  been  watching  for  your  arrival.  Come  now, 
and  let  us  have  something  to  eat.  Afterwards  we 
will  talk." 

"  What  a  splendid  dining-room !  " 

"  Isn't  it?  And  you  will  get  a  splendid  meal!  " 
He  called  a  negro  and  said:  "  Tobin,  bring  us  the 
best  dinner  you  can  serve." 

The  order  was  promptly  and  amply  obeyed,  and 
before  dinner  was  half  over  Robert's  irritability  and 
faintness  had  vanished,  and  he  was  the  usual  as 
sertive,  domineering  Robert  Campbell.  But  not  un 
til  they  had  finished  eating,  and  were  sitting  in  the 
shady  court  with  their  cigars  would  David  allow  their 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  345 

personal  conversation  to  be  renewed.  He  began  it 
by  saying: 

"  You  will  wish  to  see  Theodora  to-morrow,  I 
suppose?  " 

"  I  wish  to  see  her  at  once — to-night." 

"  That  will  not  do !  You  want  a  good  sleep,  you 
want  a  bath  and  a  barber,  and  some  decent  clothes 
on  you." 

"  I  am  not  going  courting,  David." 

"  Then  you  need  not  go  at  all.  You  will  require 
to  do  the  best  courting  you  ever  did,  or  ever  can 
do,  if  you  hope  to  get  a  hearing  from  Theodora." 

"  She  is  my  wife,  David,  and  she " 

"  Will  be  far  harder  to  win,  than  ever  Miss  New 
ton  was." 

"  Win !      She  was  won  long  ago." 

"  Won — and  lost.  You  will  not  find  this  second 
winning  an  easy  one." 

"  How  do  you  know  so  much  about  her?  " 

"  I  knew  all  about  her  miserable  life,  before  I 
knew  her;  but  I  finally  met  her  at  my  friend  Oli- 
phant's." 

"  And  it  was  the  Oliphants  who  told  you  all  her 
complainings.  Mother  never  trusted  them.  It 
seems  she  was  right — as  usual." 

"  The  Oliphants  told  me  nothing.  I  heard  all 
her  life  with  you  from  my  foster-mother,  McNab." 

"  McNab,  your  foster-mother,  David?" 

"  McNab  nursed,  and  mothered  me.  She  was  the 
only  mother  I  ever  had." 

"  McNab  !    McNab  !    Now  I  begin  to  understand 


346  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

— and  the  Oliphants  are  your  friends?  And  you 
stayed  with  them  when  in  Glasgow  ?  " 

"Always.  John  Oliphant  and  I  have  been  ac 
quainted  since  we  were  lads  together." 

Then  Robert  burst  into  uncanny  laughter  and  an 
swered  :  "  You  are  the  man,  David,  I  have  been 
wanting  to  kill  all  the  way  across  the  Atlantic  and 
across  the  continent."  David  looked  at  his  brother 
full  in  the  eyes,  as  men  look  at  a  wild  animal,  and 
asked  slowly :  "  Why  did  you  want  to  kill  me,  Rob 
ert?  What  harm  had  I  done  you?" 

"  When  I  told  mother  Theodora  had  gone  away 
from  me,  her  first  words  were :  '  Has  that  black-a- 
visored  dandy,  staying  at  the  Oliphants',  gone  with 
her  ? '  She  added,  that  she  had  '  seen  you  with 
Theodora  and  that  at  parting  you  held  her  hand — 
and  seemed  very  loth  to  leave  her.' ' 

"  Mother  was  altogether  wrong.  I  never  was  on 
any  street  in  Glasgow  with  your  wife.  I  was  never 
seen  in  public  with  her  anywhere.  I  respected  your 
honor,  as  well  as  my  own,  and  never  by  word,  deed, 
or  even  thought  wronged  it." 

"Why  should  mother  have  told  such  a — lie?" 

"  Because  it  is  her  nature  to  make  all  the  trouble 
she  can." 

"But  you  advised  Theodora  to  leave  me?" 

"  Never.  She  acted  entirely  on  her  father's  and 
mother's  advice.  But  when  I  saw  they  had  resolved 
to  come  to  the  United  States,  and  knew  nothing  of 
the  country,  I  told  Mr.  Newton  about  California, 
and  advised  him  to  make  a  home  here.  And  as 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  347 

I  and  my  daughters  were  travelling  the  same  road, 
I  did  do  all  I  could,  to  make  the  long  journey  as 
easy  as  possible.  Could  any  man  seeing  a  party 
like  the  inexperienced  minister,  and  his  invalid  wife, 
daughter,  and  her  child,  do  less  than  help  them  all 
he  could?  You  owe  me  some  thanks,  Robert,  when 
you  get  sane  enough  to  pay  your  debt." 

"  I  do  thank  you,  David,  and  what  other  debt  do 
I  owe  you?  Theodora  had  no  money." 

"  Her  father  gave  me  money  to  buy  two  of  the 
best  staterooms  for  them.  He  paid  all  their  ex 
penses  of  every  kind,  and  he  bought  the  house  in 
which  they  are  now  living,  and  paid  for  it.  Since 
then  he  has  preached,  and  lectured,  and  written,  and 
made  a  very  good  living.  He  has  had  no  necessity 
to  be  indebted  to  any  one.  Yet  if  he  had  needed 
money,  I  would  have  gladly  loaned  him  all  he  re 
quired." 

"Oh,  David,  David!  Forgive  me.  I  am  in 
a  fever.  I  do  not  know  what  I  am  saying.  Ever 
since  my  wife  left  me,  and  wronged  me " 

"  Stop,  Robert.  Your  wife  never  wronged  you. 
She  allowed  you  to  wrong  her  six  years  too  long. 
If  she  had  not  left  you,  she  would  have  been  dead 
long  ago.  To-morrow,  you  will  see  what  love,  and 
peace,  and  this  splendid  climate  have  done  for  her." 

"  And  what  has  her  desertion  done  for  me?  " 

"  If  it  has  not  taught  you  the  priceless  worth  of 
the  loving  woman  you  were  torturing  daily,  it  has 
done  nothing.  Wait  till  you  see  your  son,  and  then 
try  and  imagine  the  wretched  child  he  would  have 


348  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

been,  if  his  mother  had  not  braved  everything  for 
his  sake  and  taken  him  beyond  the  power  of  the  un 
natural  woman  who  hated  him." 

"  She  hated  him  because  he  was  called  David." 

"  And  she  hated  me  because  she  wronged  me.  If 
she  had  nursed  me,  she  would  have  loved  me.  She 
sent  me  to  Lugar  Hill  School  because  she  hated  me, 
and  she  would  have  sent  your  David  there  for  the 
same  reason.  Theodora  did  well,  did  right  to  take 
any  means  to  save  the  child  from  such  a  terrible 
life.  If  she  had  not  done  so,  she  would  have  been 
as  cruel  as  his  grandmother — and  father." 

"  My  head  burns,  and  my  heart  aches !  I  can 
say  no  more  now,  David." 

"  Poor  lad!  My  heart  aches  for  you.  But  there 
is  a  happy  future  for  Robert  Campbell  yet.  I  am 
sure  of  it.  Put  all  thought  and  feeling  away  until 
the  morning,  and  sleep,  and  sleep,  as  long  as  you 
can." 

"  I  want  to  see  Theodora  early  in  the  day." 

"  You  cannot.  As  I  told  you  before,  the  bath 
and  the  barber  and  the  tailor  are  necessary.  Have 
you  forgotten  the  spotless  neatness  and  delicacy  of 
Theodora's  toilet?  You  are  going  a-wooing,  and 
you  must  be  more  careful  in  dressing  for  Theodora 
Campbell  than  you  were  in  dressing  for  Theodora 
Newton." 

"  I  cannot  think  any  longer.  I  will  consider  what 
you  say  in  the  morning." 

'  You  will  be  a  new  man,  and  begin  a  new  life 
to-morrow." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  349 

"  I  want  the  old  life." 

"  You  do  not.  And  you  will  never  get  it.  The 
old  life  has  gone  forever." 

In  the  morning  he  did  not  even  want  it.  He 
he  had  slept  profoundly,  and  when  he  had  made 
all  preparations  for  his  visit  to  Theodora,  he  was 
quite  pleased  with  his  renovated  appearance.  David 
spoke  of  sending  a  message  to  her,  but  Robert 
thought  a  surprise  visit  would  be  best  for  himself. 
He  would  not  give  his  wife  an  opportunity  to  sit 
down  and  recall  all  his  past  offences,  and  arrange 
the  mood  in  which  she  would  meet  him,  and  the 
words  she  would  say. 

"  We  do  not  require  to  hurry,"  said  David.  "  She 
is  dismissing  her  classes  for  the  summer  holidays 
to-day,  and  will  not  be  at  liberty  until  near  three 
o'clock.  So  we  will  eat  lunch  here,  and  then  drive 
leisurely  over  to  Newton  Place." 

Robert  shrugged  his  shoulders  impatiently.  He 
thought  his  brother  was  much  too  leisurely,  but  when 
they  were  rolling  pleasantly  along  through  the  beau 
tiful  land,  he  was  not  disposed  to  complain.  It 
was  indeed  a  New  World  to  him.  Half-a-mile  from 
the  Newton  dwelling,  they  heard  voices  and  laugh 
ter,  and  the  clatter  of  horses'  feet  going  at  full  speed, 
and  immediately  there  came  into  view  three  young 
riders — two  girls,  and  a  tall,  gallant-looking  lad  as 
their  escort. 

"  Look,  Robert,  look!  "  cried  David,  much  excited. 
"  Here  come  my  two  girls,  and  your  own  little  lad. 
They  are  racing,  and  will  not  stop.  Be  ready  to 


350  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

give  them  a  'bravo!'  in  passing."  He  had  hardly 
finished  speaking,  ere  the  gay,  laughing  party  were 
behind  them.  They  were  all  in  white  linen,  and 
the  girls'  long  bright  hair  was  flowing  freely,  and 
had  pink  ribbons  in  it;  and  the  boy  had  a  black 
ribbon  at  his  knees,  and  on  his  shoes,  and  an  eagle's 
feather  in  his  cap.  And  their  bright  faces  were  full 
of  light  and  mirth,  and  their  voices  a  living  tongue 
of  gladness,  as  they  passed  crying  joyously,  "  Uncle 
David!,  Papa!  Papa!" 

"  My  God!  "  ejaculated  Robert.  "  Is  it  possible? 
Can  that  be  my  little  David?  " 

"  It  is  your  David."  Then  both  men  were  silent, 
until  Robert  heard  his  brother  say,  "  This  is 
Newton  Place,"  and  he  looked  in  astonishment  at 
the  house  they  were  approaching.  "  It  is  a  lovely 
spot,"  he  said,  "  and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  land 
round  it." 

"  Yes,  Newton  made  a  good  investment.  The 
land  has  increased  in  value  steadily  ever  since  he 
bought  it.  You  had  better  get  out  at  this  turning. 
I  will  take  the  buggy  to  the  stable,  and  you  can  go 
to  the  door  and  ring  for  admittance."  Robert  did 
not  like  to  object,  and  he  did  as  directed.  The  door 
was  standing  wide  open,  but  he  rang  the  bell.  A 
Japanese  boy  answered  the  summons,  and  opening  a 
parlor  he  told  Robert  to  take  a  seat.  "  Your  card, 
sir,"  he  asked,  holding  out  the  little  tray  to  receive  it. 

Robert  grew  red  and  angry,  but  he  took  a  card 
from  his  pocketbook,  and  threw  it  upon  the  tray, 
and  when  the  boy  had  left  the  room  he  laughed  bit- 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  351 

terly,  and  muttered:  "It  is  a  fine  thing  for  Robert 
Campbell  to  send  his  visiting  card  to  his  wife."  He 
would  not  sit  down,  but  stood  glaring  around  the 
cool,  dusky  room,  so  comforting  after  the  heat  and 
sunshine.  "  I  suppose  I  shall  be  kept  waiting  while 
my  wife  considers  whether  to  see  me  or  not;  but 
she  may  consider  too  long.  I  will  not  be  snubbed 
by  any  woman  living." 

As  he  made  this  resolution,  Theodora  entered. 
She  came  forward  with  both  hands  extended,  and 
her  face  was  radiant,  and  her  voice  full  of  happy 
tones.  He  would  have  taken  her  in  his  arms,  but 
she  kept  his  hands  in  hers  and  led  him  to  a  seat. 
Then  Mr.  Newton  came  in  with  David,  and  he  threw 
open  the  windows,  and  let  in  the  sunshine,  and  Theo 
dora  was  revealed  in  all  her  splendid  beauty.  In  a 
long  white  dress,  with  a  white  rose  in  her  hair,  she 
lacked  nothing  that  rich  materials  or  vivid  colors 
could  have  given  her.  Her  beautiful  hair,  her 
sparkling  eyes,  her  exquisite  complexion,  the  potent 
sense  of  health  and  vitality  which  was  her  atmos 
phere,  commanded  instant  delight  and  admiration; 
and  Robert  could  only  gaze  and  wonder.  How  had 
this  brilliant  woman  been  evolved  from  the  pale, 
frail,  perishing  Theodora  he  had  last  seen? 

In  a  short  time  the  three  men  went  out  together 
to  look  at  the  fruit  trees  and  the  wonderful  flowers, 
and  Theodora  assisted  her  mother  to  prepare  such  a 
meal  as  she  knew  Robert  enjoyed;  and  when  they 
sat  down  to  it,  she  placed  Robert  at  her  right  hand. 
They  were  still  at  the  table  when  David  came  gallop- 


352  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

ing  home,  and  in  a  few  minutes  he  entered  the  room. 
Every  eye  was  turned  on  the  boy,  but  he  saw  at  first 
no  one  but  his  uncle. 

"Cousin  Agnes  won!"  he  cried,  "won  by  two 
lengths,  uncle.  Isn't  she  great?  "  Then  he  noticed 
his  father,  and  for  a  few  moments  seemed  puzzled. 
There  was  not  a  word,  not  a  movement  as  the  boy 
gazed.  Theodora  held  her  breath  in  suspense.  But 
it  was  only  for  a  few  moments;  joyfully  he  ex- 
clakned:  "  I  know!  I  know!  "  and  the  next  instant 
his  arms  were  round  his  father's  neck,  and  he  was 
crying,  "It  is  father!  Father,  father!  Let  me  sit 
beside  him,  mother."  And  Theodora  made  room 
for  the  boy's  chair  between  them. 

The  evening  was  a  revelation  to  the  discarded  hus 
band.  Theodora  sang  wonderfully  some  American 
songs  that  Robert  had  never  before  heard — music 
with  a  charm  entirely  fresh  and  new;  and  David  re 
cited  an  English  and  Latin  lesson,  and  then  at  his 
uncle's  request,  spoke  in  good  broad  Scotch  Robert 
Burns'  grand  lyric,  "  A  Man's  a  Man  for  a'  That." 
Robert  said  little,  but  he  drew  the  lad  between  his 
knees,  and  whispered  something  to  him  which  trans 
figured  the  child's  face.  He  trusted  his  father  im 
plicitly,  he  always  had  done,  and  his  father  had  a 
heartache  that  night,  when  he  thought  of  the  wrong 
that  might  have  been  done  to  the  helpless  child. 

Soon  after  nine  o'clock,  David  Campbell  said: 
"  Come,  brother,  we  have  a  short  ride  before  us, 
and  I  like  to  close  my  house  at  ten;  also  I  am  sure 
you  are  weary." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  353 

Robert  said  he  was,  but  he  rose  more  like  a  man 
that  had  received  a  blow,  than  one  simply  tired.  He 
could  scarcely  speak  his  adieus — and  he  could  not 
answer  Theodora's  invitation  to  "  call  early  on  the 
following  day  "  except  in  single  words.  "  Yes — no 
— perhaps." 

They  were  outside  the  Newton  grounds  before  he 
spoke  to  his  brother,  then  he  said:  "David,  it  is 
too  hard.  I  don't  understand.  She  never  asked 
me  to  stay — the  Wyntons  were  asked.  I  feel  as 
if  I  had  no  business  here.  I  had  better  go  back 
to  Glasgow.  I  will  go  back  to-morrow." 

"It  is  not  her  house.  She  rents  her  classroom, 
and  pays  her  own  and  her  child's  board  and  lodging 
there.  That  is  all.  She  had  no  right  to  ask  you 
to  remain.  It  is  Mr.  Newton's  house,  and  he  re 
ceived  you  in  a  Christian  and  gentlemanly  spirit.  I 
do  not  care  to  say  how  I  would  have  received  a  man 
who  had  treated  my  Agnes,  or  Flora,  in  the  way 
Theodora  was  treated." 

"  I  will  go  back  to  Glasgow  to-morrow." 

"  You  will  do  so  at  the  peril  of  all  your  future 
happiness  and  prosperity." 

Then  they  were  silent  until  they  reached  a  great 
white  house  standing  in  green  depths  of  sweet  foliage. 
Robert  wondered  and  admired.  Its  vast  hall,  and 
the  spacious  room,  so  splendidly  furnished,  into  which 
his  brother  led  him,  filled  him  with  astonishment. 
Two  pretty  girls  were  sitting  at  a  table  drawing 
embroidery  patterns,  and  they  nearly  threw  the  table 
over  in  their  delight  when  their  father  entered. 


354  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Here  is  your  Uncle  Robert  Campbell!  "  he  cried 
joyously.  "  Give  him  some  of  your  noisy  welcome, 
and  then  run  away,  you  little  cherubs,  or  you  will 
miss  your  beauty  sleep." 

They  were  soon  alone,  and  David  turned  out  some 
of  the  lights  and  placed  a  box  of  cigars  on  the  table, 
and  the  two  men  smoked  in  silence  for  a  little  while. 
Then  Robert  said :  "  You  are  very  rich,  I  suppose, 
David." 

"  Yes,  I  am  tolerably  well  off." 

"And  very  happy?" 

"  As  happy  as  a  man  can  be,  who  has  lost  the 
dearest  and  sweetest  of  wives." 

"  But  you  will  marry  again?  " 

"Not  until  my  daughters  are  married!  I  will 
never  give  them  a  stepmother;  she  might  make  me 
a  stepfather.  But  when  they  are  settled,  I  may 
marry  again." 

"  Do  you  know  any  one  likely  to  take  the  place 
of  your  dead  wife?  " 

"  No  one  can  ever  take  her  place.  There  is  a 
very  noble  woman  who  may  make  her  own  place  in 
my  heart  and  home.  I  think  it  would  be  a  very 
strong,  sweet  place." 

"Is  she  Scotch?" 

"  No." 

"English?" 

11  No." 

"American?" 

"  Spanish-American." 

"Beautiful?" 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  355 

"  Very — and  of  lovely  disposition  and  great  at 
tainments.  She  is  also  rich,  but  that  I  do  not  count." 

"  What  is  her  name  ?  " 

"  Mercedes  Morena.  She  is  a  Roman  Catholic, 
a  woman  of  fervent  piety." 

"  Spanish.  And  a  Papist.  What  will  mother 
say?" 

"  All  kinds  of  hard  things — no  doubt — though 
money  makes  a  good  deal  of  difference  in  mother's 
conclusions.  But  I  care  nothing  for  her  opinion; 
a  wife  is  a  man's  most  sacred  and  personal  relation. 
No  one  has  a  right  to  object  to  the  woman  he  chooses. 
It  is  no  one's  business  but  his  own." 

"  When  I  married  Theodora,  she  looked  as  she 
looked  to-night,  only  to-night  she  is  far  more  lovely. 
Oh,  David,  I  cannot  give  her  up !  She  is  tied  to 
me  by  my  heart-strings.  I  shall  cease  to  live,  if  she 
refuses  me." 

"  And,  Robert,  she  is  good  as  she  is  lovely.  I 
marvel  that  you  could  live  six  years  at  her  side,  and 
not  grow  into  her  spiritual  and  mental  likeness." 

"  The  Campbells  have  a  strong  individuality, 
David." 

"  I  tell  you  frankly,  she  has  lifted  me  upward 
almost  unconsciously.  I  would  not  do  the  things 
to-day  I  did  without  uneasiness  four  years  ago.  For 
instance,  I  would  not  to-day  go  into  my  mother's 
home  and  presence  unknown  to  her.  I  would  not 
to-day  visit  you  and  your  works  as  a  stranger.  I 
enjoyed  the  incognito  four  years  ago.  It  appears 
to  me  now  dishonorable  and  vulgar.  No  one  has 


356  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

told  me  so,  or  corrected  me  for  it — the  knowledge 
came  with  the  gradual  and  general  uplift  of  my 
ideals,  through  companionship  and  conversation  with 
your  wife.  How  did  you  escape  her  sweet  in 
fluences?  " 

"  I  kept  out  of  their  way." 

"  Did  you  never  make  any  effort  to  find  your  wife 
and  child?" 

"  I  spent  four  thousand  pounds  looking  for  her. 
Then  Isabel  advised  me  to  give  the  search  up,  and 
leave  the  whole  affair  to  Destiny.  I  did  not  mind 
the  money — much,  but  I  did  mind  terribly  the  talk 
and  the  newspapers.  I  felt  it  to  be  a  great  trial 
to  face  even  my  workmen." 

"  How  did  mother  take  the  event?  " 

"  She  defied  it — laughed  at  it — defended  her 
cruelty — said  she  would  do  it  all  over  again." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  it." 

"  Dr.  Robertson — who  heard  the  whole  story  from 
Mrs.  Oliphant — came  out  to  the  works  to  see  me, 
and  he  said  some  awful  things.  He  even  told  me, 
that  until  I  repented  of  my  sinful  conduct,  and  ac 
knowledged  it  before  a  session  of  the  Kirk  officers, 
he  would  refuse  the  Holy  Communion." 

"  He  did  right,  Robert,  and  I  am  glad  to  hear 
that  Scotch  dominies  are  still  brave  enough  to  re 
prove  sin  in  the  rich  places  of  the  Kirk." 

"  Then  he  went  to  mother,  and  told  her  the  same 
thing." 

"Well?" 

"  He  could  do  nothing  with  mother.     She  ordered 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  357 

him  to  '  attend  to  his  Kirk  and  his  bit  sermons,  and 
leave  her  household  alone.'  I  will  not  repeat  their 
conversation — you  would  not  believe  any  one  would 
dare  to  browbeat  a  minister  as  she  did.  He  forbid 
her  the  sacramental  occasion,  and  she  ordered  him 
out  of  her  house.  It  made  a  great  scandal.  It 
made  me  wretched." 

"  What  did  you  do  about  the  Sabbath  Day?  " 
"  There  was  a  new  church  very  near  to  us,  and 
they  were  a  struggling  congregation,  with  a  boyish 
kind  of  minister.  Mother  was  gladly  received  there. 
She  rented  the  most  extravagant  pew,  gave  one  hun 
dred  pounds  to  the  church  fund,  and  took  the  min 
ister  into  her  personal  care  and  protection.  Chris 
tina  and  her  husband  went  with  her.  Mother  owns 
the  Kirk  and  the  minister,  and  the  elders  and  the 
deacons,  and  all  the  congregation  now.  Every  one 
praises  her  orthodoxy  and  her  generosity,  and  she 
does  as  she  thinks  right  in  Free  St.  Jude's." 

David  laughed  heartily,  and  Robert  continued: 
"  All  the  ladies'  societies  meet  in  Traquair  House, 
and  all  of  them  are  prosperous.  She  is  president  of 
some,  treasurer  of  others,  and  she  entertains  all  of 
them  with  a  splendid  hospitality.  And  Christina 
tells  me,  she  never  fails  to  speak  with  pitying  scorn 
of  Dr.  Robertson  and  his  Kirk.  I  heard  her  myself 
one  day  tell  them,  '  that  he  was  clean  behind  the 
times  in  Christian  work.  What  is  a  Kirk  worth  ?  ' 
she  asked,  '  without  plenty  of  Ladies'  Auxiliary  So 
cieties?  The  women  in  a  Kirk  must  work,  God 
knows  the  men  won't!  They  spin  a  sovereign  into 


358  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

the  collection  box,  and  think  they  have  done  their 
full  share.  Poor  things,  it  is  maybe  all  they  can  do ! 
The  women  of  Free  St.  Jude's  must  be  an  example 
to  the  Robertson  Kirk,  and  the  like  o'  it.'  ' 

"  She  is  a  great  woman,  is  mother,  in  some  ways," 
said  David,  and  he  laughed  disdainfully. 

"  She  is,"  answered  Robert.  "  I  think  I  will  go 
home  to-morrow.  Theodora  no  longer  loves  me, 
and  yet,  David,  I  love  her  a  million  times  more  than 
ever.  No,  I  can  not  give  her  up;  I  can  not,  I  will 
not !  I  will  win  her  over  again — if  I  stay  a  year 
to  do  it." 

"  You  would  be  unworthy  of  love,  or  even  life, 
if  you  gave  her  up.  But  you  are  worn  out  and  not 
able  to  arrange  yourself.  Come,  I  will  take  you 
to  your  room,  and  to-morrow  go  and  ask  her  plainly, 
if  she  still  loves  you." 

"  I  will." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  RECONSTRUCTED  MARRIAGE 

DURING  the  following  three  weeks,  Robert  lived  in 
an  earthly  paradise.  His  brother  drew  him  with 
cords  of  strong  wisdom  and  affection  always  into  the 
ways  of  pleasantness  and  peace.  Theodora  grew 
every  day  more  lovely  and  more  familiar;  her  little 
coolnesses  vanished  in  the  warmth  of  Robert's  smiles, 
her  shy  pride  was  conquered  by  his  persistent  and 
passionate  wooing;  and  the  days  went  by  in  a  glory 
of  innocent  amusements.  Theodora  and  little  David 
were  clever  and  fearless  riders,  and  they  soon  made 
the  accomplishment  easy  to  Robert,  who  was  de 
lighted  with  its  joyful  mastery,  and  greatly  disap 
pointed  if  bad  weather,  or  any  other  event,  prevented 
their  morning  gallop. 

Very  frequently  he  accompanied  his  brother  into 
San  Francisco,  met  many  of  her  great  financiers  and 
merchants,  and  was  their  guest  at  such  elaborate 
lunches  and  dinners  as  he  had  never  dreamed  pos 
sible.  Or,  he  went  with  Mr.  Newton  to  his  vine 
yard  and  watched  the  process  of  raisin-making.  And 
Theodora  had  a  dance  for  him,  and  the  lovely  young 
girls  present  taught  him  the  American  steps,  and 
made  him  wonder  over  their  beauty,  their  brightness, 
their  perfect  ease  of  manner,  and  their  manifest  su 
periority  and  authority  over  male  adorers,  who  ap- 

359 


360  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

peared  to  be  perfectly  delighted  with  their  own  sub 
jugation.  A  full  course  at  the  greatest  university  in 
the  world  would  not  have  given  him  such  a  civilizing 
social  education  as  the  pretty  girls  of  San  Francisco 
did  in  a  month. 

But  all  things  come  to  an  end,  and  one  day  Robert 
received  two  letters  which  compelled  a  pause  in  this 
pleasant  life.  They  were  from  his  mother  and  his 
head  manager.  His  mother  wrote:  "You  be  to 
come  home,  Robert  Campbell;  everything  is  going 
to  the  mischief  wanting  you!  I  am  hearing  that 
the  men  are  on  strike  at  the  works,  and  that  the 
fires  have  been  banked,  and  the  gates  locked.  Jamie 
Rathey  is  drinking  too  much  wine  and  neglecting  his 
business,  and  Christina  is  whimpering  and  scolding, 
for  she  knows  well  he  will  not  behave  himself  until  he 
gets  the  word  from  you.  As  for  myself,  I  am  barely 
holding  up  against  the  great  strain,  for  there's  none 
to  help  me,  Christina  having  trouble  enough  in  her 
own  shoes,  and  My  Lady  Wynton  having  almost 
forgotten  the  way  to  her  own  home,  since  she  was 
promoted  to  a  residence  in  Wynton  Castle.  So, 
Robert,  my  lad,  come  back  as  quick  as  you  can,  for 
your  mother  is  sorely  needing  you." 

He  showed  this  letter  to  his  brother,  and  David 
only  smiled.  "  Let  me  see  your  manager's  letter, 
Robert,"  he  asked,  and  when  he  had  read  it,  he 
smiled  still  more  significantly. 

"  I  do  not  think  your  letters  need  give  you  any 
anxiety,  Robert,"  he  said.  "  The  letter  from  An 
drew  Starkie,  your  manager,  is  dated  two  days  later 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  361 

than  mother's,  and  he  does  not  even  name  a  strike 
among  your  workers.  He  seems  troubled  only  be 
cause  the  orders  are  so  large  he  is  afraid  that  the 
cash  left  at  his  command  will  not  be  sufficient  to 
carry  them  out.  We  can  send  more  money  to-day. 
I  see  no  necessity  for  you  to  hurry.  I  want  you  to 
take  a  sail  up  to  Vancouver,  and  another  sail  down 
to  the  Isthmus.  You  have  given  me  no  time  yet. 
And  what  about  your  position  with  Theodora?" 

"  I  must  find  that  out  immediately.  The  day  after 
I  came,  I  gave  her  a  ring  she  valued  highly — a  ring 
that  her  pupils  presented  to  her.  It  had  been  stolen, 
and  I  recovered  it,  and  she  was  delighted  when  I 
put  it  on  her  finger.  But  when  I  offered  her  the 
wedding  ring  she  returned  it  to  me,  she  shook  her 
head,  closed  her  eyes,  and  would  not  look  at  it." 

"  Try  her  again.  She  has  changed  since  then.  I 
am  sure  she  loves  you  now." 

"  I  am  just  going  to  her,"  and  he  turned  away 
with  such  a  mournful  look  that  his  brother  called 
him  back. 

"  Look  here,  Robert,"  he  said,  "  faint  heart  never 
won  fair  lady,  or  anything  else  for  that  matter. 
Your  face  is  enough  to  frighten  any  woman.  Women 
do  not  fancy  despairers." 

"  David  you  don't  know  what  a  hopeless  task  it 
is  to  court  your  wife.  She  knows  all  your  weak 
points,  and  just  how  most  cruelly  to  snub  you." 

"That  is  not  Theodora's  way!  Speak  to  her 
kindly,  but  bravely.  Be  straight  in  all  you  say,  for 
I  declare  to  you  she  feels  a  lie." 


362  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Great  heavens !  I  should  think  I  know  that, 
David.  I  was  often  forced  to  break  my  promises 
to  her,  or  in  the  stress  of  business  I  forgot  them; 
and  at  last,  she  never  noticed  any  promise  I  made. 
It  used  to  make  me  angry." 

"  What  made  you  angry?  " 

"  O,  the  change  in  her  face,  when  I  said  I  would 
do  anything.  She  never  contradicted  me  in  words, 
but  I  knew  she  was  mentally  throwing  my  promise 
over  her  shoulder.  It  was  not  pleasant." 

"  Very  unpleasant — to  her." 

"  I  meant  to  myself." 

"  Well,  Robert,  when  you  are  going  to  ask  a 
woman  to  do  you  a  miraculous  favor,  do  not  think 
of  yourself,  think  of  her.  Forget  yourself,  this 
morning." 

"  O,  I  think  constantly  of  Theodora." 

David  looked  queerly  at  his  brother,  and  seemed 
on  the  point  of  asking  him  a  question,  but  he  likely 
thought  it  useless.  Robert  went  off  trying  to  look 
hopeful  and  brave,  but  inwardly  in  a  muddle  of 
anxious  uncertainty,  because  of  his  mother's  letter. 
He  found  Theodora  in  a  shady  corner  of  the  piazza; 
she  was  reclining  in  a  Morris  chair,  and  thinking 
of  him.  Her  loving  smile,  her  happy  leisure,  her 
morning  freshness  and  beauty,  her  outstretched  hand, 
made  an  entrancing  picture.  He  placed  a  chair  at 
her  side,  and  sat  down,  and  Theodora  after  a  glance 
into  his  face  asked: 

"  O,  knight  of  the  rueful  countenance,  what 
troubles  you  this  beautiful  morning  ?  " 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  363 

"  I  have  had  letters  from  home,"  he  answered; 
"  not  pleasant  letters." 

"  From  your  mother,  then  ?  " 

"  One  of  them  is  from  mother." 

"  She  could  not  write  a  pleasant  letter,  and  if 
she  could,  she  would  not." 

"Will  you  read  it?" 

"  I  would  not  cast  my  eyes  upon  anything  her  eyes 
have  looked  on." 

"  She  says  enough  to  make  it  necessary  for  me  to 
go  home." 

"Home?" 

"  It  is  the  only  home  I  have.     You " 

"  Do  not  include  me,  in  any  remark  about  your 
home." 

"  Once  you  made  my  home  your  home." 

"  Never!  There  was  no  such  thing  as  home,  in 
Traquair  House." 

"  But,  my  darling  Dora — my  darling  wife " 

"  I  am  not  your  wife.  When  I  sent  you  the  wed 
ding  ring  back — that  you  said  was  yours,  not  mine — 
I  divorced  myself  from  all  a  wife's  duties,  pains,  and 
penalties." 

'  You  are  my  wife,  and  nothing  but  my  death  can 
make  you  free." 

"  Oh,  but  you  are  mistaken !  You  made  a  solemn 
contract  with  me,  and  you  broke  every  condition  of 
that  contract." 

"  Suppose  I  did,  that " 

"  Your  faithlessness  made  the  contract  null  and 
void " 


364  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  The  law  of  England " 

"  I  care  nothing  about  the  law  of  England.  I 
am  now  an  American  citizen." 

"  But,  Dora,  my  dear,  dear  love,  you  will  surely 
go  back  to  Glasgow  with  me?  " 

"Not  for  all  creation!      I  would  rather  die." 

"  Am  I  to  go  back  alone?     That  is  too  cruel." 

"  Why  do  you  wish  to  go  back?  " 

"  Have  you  considered  my  business,  Dora?  " 

"  No,  I  have  thought  only  of  you." 

"  But  you  must  think  of  my  business.  How  can 
you  expect  me  to  give  it  up?  Why,  the  '  Campbell 
Iron  Works '  are  almost  historic.  They  were 
founded  by  my  great-grandfather.  They  are  mak 
ing  more  money  under  my  management  than  ever 
they  did  before." 

"  If  you  put  your  historic  iron  works  before  me, 
you  are  not  worthy  of  me." 

"  My  mother's,  and  my  sister's  livelihoods  are 
in  the  works.  They  look  to  me  to  protect  them." 

"  If  you  put  your  mother,  and  your  sisters  before 
me,  you  are  not  worthy  of  me." 

"  They  love  me,  Dora." 

'  Your  mother  has  many  investments.  She  is  rich. 
Your  sisters  are  well  married.  Neither  of  them 
would  put  you  before  their  husbands,  why  should 
you  put  them  before  your  wife  and  son?  If  they 
had  loved  you,  they  would  not  have  broken  up  your 
home,  and  driven  your  wife  and  child  away  from 
you.  You  were  a  provider  of  cash,  a  giver  of  social 
prestige  to  them — no  more." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  365 

"  Then  you  expect  me  to  give  up  my  family,  my 
business,  my  country — everything." 

"  I  will  have  everything,  or  nothing." 

She  rose  as  she  said  these  words,  and  stood  look 
ing  into  his  face  with  eyes  full  of  love  and  trouble. 

"  Then  God  help  me,  Theodora,"  he  faltered, 
"  for  this  hour  I  die  to  every  hope  of  happiness  in 
this  life !  "  He  lifted  her  hand,  and  his  tears 
dropped  on  it  as  he  kissed  it.  "  Farewell !  Fare 
well!" 

He  was  standing  before  her  the  image  of  despair 
ing  Love,  and  she  lifted  her  eyes,  and  they  met  the 
passionate  grief  in  his.  She  could  not  bear  it.  "  Oh, 
Robert !  "  she  sobbed,  "  Oh,  Robert,  I  do  love  you. 
I  have  loved  none  but  you.  I  never  shall  love  any 
other."  She  laid  her  head  against  his  shoulder,  and 
he  silently  kissed  her  many  times,  and  then  went 
slowly  away. 

He  went  straight  to  his  brother  with  his  sorrow, 
and  David  listened  in  grave  silence,  until  the  story 
of  the  interview  was  over.  Then  he  said  softly: 

"Poor  Theodora!" 

Robert  was  astonished,  even  hurt  by  the  exclama 
tion.  "Why  do  you  pity  Theodora?"  he  asked. 
"  It  is  I  you  ought  to  pity." 

"  You  ought  to  have  had  pity  on  yourself,  Rob 
ert.  Of  course,  you  are  miserable,  and  you  will  be 
far  more  miserable.  How  could  you  bear  to  give 
your  wife  such  a  cowardly  disappointment;  how  could 
you  do  it?  " 

"  I  do  not  understand  you,  David — cowardly " 


366  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

11  Yes,  that  is  the  word  for  it.  You  have  been 
persuading  her  for  a  month,  that  you  loved  her  be 
fore,  and  above,  all  earthly  things.  As  you  noticed, 
she  did  not  at  first  believe  this,  but  I  am  sure  the 
last  two  weeks  she  has  taken  all  your  protestations 
into  her  heart." 

"  I  told  her  nothing  but  the  truth." 

"  And  as  soon  as  you  think  she  loves  you " 

"  She  does  love  me — she  says  so." 

"  You  take  advantage  of  her  love,  and  ask  her  to 
go  back  to  a  life  that  almost  killed  her,  before  she 
fled  from  it.  Poor  Theodora  1  And  I  call  your  act 
a  selfish,  cowardly  one." 

"  What  did  you  expect  me  to  do?  " 

"  To  give  up  everything  for  her." 

"  To  give  up  the  works — the  Campbell  Iron 
Works!  To  give  them  up!  Sell  them  perhaps  at 
a  loss!  Did  you  expect  I  would  do  this?  " 

"  I  did.  I  supposed  you  wished  her  to  be  again 
your  wife." 

"  You  know  I  wished  it." 

"  I  do  not  believe  you.  I  think  as  your  holiday 
was  over,  you  wished  to  back  out  of  your  promise, 
and  you  knew  the  easiest  way  to  do  so  was  to  require 
her  to  go  back  to  Glasgow." 

"  Back  out!    What  do  you  mean,  David?  " 

"  Your  mother  orders  you  home,  and  rather  than 
offend  her,  or  meet  her  sarcasms,  you  ask  Theodora 
to  do  what  you  well  know  she  will  never  do.  Hav 
ing  taught  her  to  love  you  again,  you  make  her  an 
offer  that  it  is  impossible  for  her  to  accept;  then 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  367 

you  leave  her  to  suffer  once  more  the  pang  of  wrong 
and  despairing  love.  Cowardly  is  too  mild  a  word; 
your  conduct  is  that  of  a  scoundrel." 

"  My  God,  David,  are  you  turning  against  me?  " 

"  Robert,  Robert !  I  am  ashamed  of  you.  Sup 
pose  Theodora  went  back  to  Glasgow  with  you,  what 
would  be  her  position,  and  what  would  people — espe 
cially  women — say  about  it?  She  would  be  a  wife 
who  ran  away  from  her  husband,  but  whom  her  hus 
band  discovered,  and  brought  back  to  her  duties. 
Upon  this  text,  what  cutting,  cruel  speeches  mother 
and  all  the  women  in  your  set  would  make.  The 
position  would  be  a  triumph  for  you — some  men 
would  envy  and  admire  you,  all  would  praise  you  for 
standing  up  so  persistently  for  the  authority  of  the 
male.  But  poor  Theodora,  who  would  stand  by 
her?" 

"  I  would." 

"  And  your  defence  of  your  wife  would  be  counted 
as  a  thing  chivalrous  and  magnanimous  in  you,  but 
it  would  be  disgraceful  in  her  to  require  it.  She, 
the  poor  innocent  one,  would  get  all  the  blame  and 
the  shame,  you,  the  guilty  one " 

"  Stop,  David !  I  never  thought  of  her  return  in 
this  light." 

"  I  can  imagine  mother  and  the  rest  of  the  women 
chortling  and  glorying  over  the  runaway  wife 
brought  back." 

"  I  tell  you,  I  would  stand  by  her  through  thick 
and  thin." 

"  But  you  could  not  prevent  the  women  hounding 


368  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

her,  and  upon  my  honor,  Robert,  she  would  deserve 
it." 

"  No,  David.     She  would  not  deserve  it." 

"  I  say  she  would." 

"What  for?" 

"  For  coming  back  with  you.  Every  woman  with 
a  particle  of  self-respect  would  feel  that  she  had  be 
trayed  her  sex,  and  dishonored  her  wifehood,  and 
they  would  despise,  and  speak  ill  of  her  for  doing 
so.  And  she  would  deserve  it." 

"  Then  all  this  month  you  have  been  expecting  me 
to  come  here  to  live?  " 

"  There  was  no  other  manly  and  gentlemanly  way 
out  of  your  dilemma ;  and  your  coming  at  all  author 
ized  the  expectation." 

"  The  iron  works  are  not  all,  David.  Do  you 
think  I  care  nothing  for  my  family,  and  my  coun 
try?  " 

"  Do  you  think  you  are  the  only  person  who  cares 
for  their  family?  What  about  Theodora's  feelings? 
Her  father  gave  up  his  ministry,  and  taking  his  wife 
and  the  savings  of  his  whole  life,  he  came  here  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth  with  his  child,  because  you  had 
treated  her  and  her  son  cruelly.  Now  you  ask  her 
to  leave  them  here,  in  a  new  country,  where  they 
have  not  one  relative — in  their  old  age " 

"  I  forgot  their  claim.  I  will  pay  all  their  ex 
penses  back  to  England." 

"  Mrs.  Newton  could  not  bear  the  journey  back. 
Mr.  Newton  has  lost  all  his  interests  in  England; 
what  money  they  have  is  invested  here.  Oh,  if  you 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  369 

do  not  Instantly  see  their  pitiful  condition  without 
their  daughter,  it  is  useless  to  explain  it  to  you.  Then 
there  is  their  grandchild.  He  is  the  light  of  their 
life.  If  their  grandchild  was  taken  away,  they  would 
be  bereft  indeed." 

"  Their  grandchild  is  my  son.  My  claim  is  para 
mount.  I  must  have  my  boy  at  all  hazards.  I  want 
him  educated  in  Scotland,  and  brought  up  a  Scotch 
man,  not  an  American.  He  will  be  heir  to  the 
works,  and  must  understand  the  people,  and  the  con 
ditions  he  has  to  live  with,  and  work  with." 

"  You  will  never  make  a  Scotchman  of  Davie. 
You  will  never  get  him  out  of  this  country,  or  this 
state.  You  will  never  make  an  iron-worker  of 
David,  he  loves  too  well  the  free,  and  open-air  life; 
and  the  blue  skies,  and  sunshine." 

"  He  is  under  authority,  and  must  come." 

"  Under  his  mother's  authority  yet,  and  mind  this, 
Robert,  you  will  not  be  permitted  to  take  him  from 
her;  not  be  permitted,  I  say." 

"  My  God,  what  am  I  to  do?  " 

"  Do  right.     There  is  no  other  way  to  be  happy." 

"  There  are  two  rights  here,  my  mother  and  my 
sisters  have  claims  as  well  as  my  wife  and  my 
son." 

"  Then  for  God's  sake  go  to  your  mother  and 
your  sisters!  Why  did  you  come  to  me  for  advice, 
when  you  are  still  tied  to  your  mother's  apron- 
strings." 

"  Now,  you  are  angry  at  me." 

"  Yes,  and  justly  so.     But  if  you  are  bent  on  Glas- 


370  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

gow,  the  sooner  you  start  for  the  dismal  city,  the 
better." 

"  I  will  go  at  once.  Will  you  let  some  one  drive 
me  to  San  Francisco?" 

"  I  will  tell  Saki  to  bring  a  buggy  to  the  door  in 
half-an-hour." 

u  Don't  go  away  from  me,  David — don't  do  that ! 
I  am  miserable  enough  without  your  desertion." 

"  I  am  disappointed  in  you,  Robert — sorely,  sorely 
disappointed.  I  have  had  a  dream  about  our  future 
lives  together,  and  it  is,  it  seems,  only  a  dream. 
Good-bye,  Robert!  I  do  not  feel  able  to  watch  the 
ending  of  all  my  hopes,  so  Saki  will  drive  you  to 
the  city.  And  you,  too,  will  be  better  alone.  Good 
bye,  good-bye !  " 

So  they  parted,  and  Robert  was  driven  into  the 
city  and  took  his  ticket  for  the  next  train  bound  for 
New  York.  He  had  some  hours  to  wait,  and  he 
went  to  the  hotel  he  had  frequented  with  his  brother, 
and  sat  down  in  the  office.  Undoubtedly  there  was 
a  secret  hope  in  his  heart,  that  David  would  follow 
him,  and  he  watched  with  anxiety  every  newcomer. 
But  David  did  not  follow  him,  and  when  he  could 
wait  no  longer,  he  went  to  his  train.  Bitter  disquiet 
and  uncertainty  wrung  his  heart,  and  he  was  glad 
when  the  moving  train  permitted  him  to  isolate  him 
self  in  a  dismal,  sullen  stillness. 

He  had  also  a  violent  nervous  headache,  and  physi 
cal  pain  was  a  thing  he  knew  so  little  about,  that 
he  was  astonished  at  his  suffering,  and  resented  it. 
"And  this  is  the  end  of  everything!  "  he  muttered 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  371 

to  himself,  "  the  end  of  everything!  It  was  brutal 
to  expect  me  to  give  up  my  business,  my  family,  and 
my  country,"  and  then  he  ceased,  for  something  re 
minded  him  that  Theodora  had  once  made  that  same 
sacrifice  for  him.  In  any  crisis  the  "  set  "  of  the 
life  will  count,  and  the  "  set "  of  Robert's  life  was 
selfishness.  This  passion  now  boldly  combated  all 
dissent  from  his  personal  satisfaction,  denied  any 
supremacy  but  his  will,  drowned  the  voice  of  Honor, 
the  pleadings  of  Love,  and  insisted  on  his  own  pleas 
ure  and  interest,  at  all  costs. 

Sorrow,  if  it  be  possible,  takes  refuge  in  sleep;  but 
sleep  was  far  from  Robert  Campbell.  His  body 
was  racked  with  physical  suffering  that  he  knew  not 
how  to  alleviate;  his  soul  was  aching  in  all  its  senses. 
He  was  assailed  by  memories,  every  one  of  which 
he  would  like  to  have  met  with  a  shriek.  All  he 
loved  was  behind  him,  every  moment  he  was  leaving 
them  further  behind.  And  his  God  dwelt — or 
visited — only  in  sacred  buildings.  He  never  thought 
of  Him  as  in  a  railway  car,  never  supposed  Him  to 
be  observant  of  the  trouble  between  his  wife  and 
himself,  would  not  have  believed  that  there  was  pres 
ent  an  Omniscent  Eye,  looking  with  ancient  kindness 
on  all  his  pain,  and  ready  to  relieve  it.  And  oh,  the 
terror  of  those  long  nights,  when  suffering,  sorrow, 
and  remorse  were  riotous,  and  where  to  him,  God 
was  not! 

On  the  second  day,  the  conductor  began  to  watch 
Campbell.  He  induced  him  to  take  a  cup  of  strong 
coffee  and  lie  down,  and  then  went  among  the  pas- 


372  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

sengers  seeking  a  physician.  "  I  am  a  physician," 
said  a  young  man  whose  seat  was  not  far  from  Rob 
ert's.  "  I  am  Dr.  Stuart  of  San  Francisco.  I 
have  been  watching  the  man  you  mean;  he  is  either 
insane  or  ill.  I  will  not  neglect  him." 

Robert  was  really  ill;  he  grew  better  and  worse, 
better  and  worse  constantly,  until  they  were  near 
Denver.  Then  Dr.  Stuart  went  to  his  side  and  made 
another  effort  to  induce  him  to  converse.  "  You  are 
ill,"  he  said.  "  I  am  a  physician  and  know  it.  You 
must  stop  travelling  for  a  few  days.  Get  off  at 
Denver.  Where  is  your  home?" 

"  In  Scotland.     I  am  going  there." 

"  Impossible — as  you  now  are.  Get  off  at  Den 
ver.  Go  to  an  hotel,  and  send  for  this  physician," 
and  he  handed  him  a  slip  of  paper  on  which  the 
name  was  written.  Robert  glanced  at  it,  and  held  it 
in  his  hand. 

"  Put  it  in  your  vest  pocket." 

He  did  so,  but  his  hands  trembled  so  violently, 
and  he  looked  into  the  man's  face  with  eyes  so  full 
of  unspeakable  suffering  and  sorrow,  that  the  stran 
ger's  heart  was  touched.  He  resolved  to  get  off  at 
Denver  with  him,  and  see  that  he  was  properly  at 
tended  to. 

"  What  is  your  name?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  am  Robert  Campbell." 

"  Brother  of  David  Campbell  of  San  Francisco?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  He  is  as  good  a  man  as  ever  lived.  I  know  him 
well." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  373 

"  Write  and  tell  him  his  brother  is  dying — he  will 
come  to  me." 

"  Oh,  no !  you  are  not  dying.  We  will  not  bring 
him  such  a  long  journey.  I  will  stay  with  you,  until 
you  are  better — but  off  the  train  you  must  get." 

"  Thank  you !  I  will  do  as  you  say.  I  will  pay 
you  well." 

"  I  am  not  thinking  of  '  pay.'  I  know  your 
brother,  it  is  pay  enough  to  serve  him,  by  helping 
you." 

Robert  nodded  and  tried  to  smile.  He  put  his 
hand  into  the  doctor's  hand,  went  with  him  to  a  car 
riage,  and  they  were  driven  to  an  hotel.  During 
the  change,  he  did  not  speak,  he  had  all  that  he  could 
manage,  to  keep  himself  erect  and  preserve  his  con 
sciousness.  But  there  are  mystically  in  our  faces, 
certain  characters,  which  carry  in  them  the  motto 
of  our  souls;  and  the  motto  the  doctor  read  on  Rob 
ert's  face  was — No  Surrender.  He  told  himself 
this,  when  he  had  got  his  patient  into  bed,  and  sur 
rounded  him  with  darkness  and  stillness  and  given 
him  a  sedative.  "  Some  men  would  proceed  to  have 
brain  fever,"  he  mused,  "  but  not  this  man.  He 
will  fight  off  sickness,  resent  it,  deny  it,  and  rise 
above  it  in  a  few  days.  I'll  give  him  a  week — but 
he  will  not  succumb.  There's  no  surrender  in  that 
face,  though  it  is  white  and  thin  with  suffering." 

For  four  days,  however,  Robert  wavered  between 
better  and  worse,  as  the  gusts  of  frantic  remorse  and 
despair  assailed  him.  Then  he  forgot  everything  but 
the  irreparable  mistake  that  had  ruined  his  life,  and 


374  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

during  the  paroxysms  whispered  continually:  "  Oh, 
God!  oh,  God!  that  it  were  possible  to  undo  things 
done !  "  a  whisper  that  could  hardly  be  heard  by 
mortal  ears,  but  which  passed  beyond  the  constella 
tions,  and  reached  the  ear  and  the  heart  of  Him,  who 
dwelleth  in  the  Heaven  of  Heavens. 

It  was  in  one  of  those  awful  encounters  of  the 
soul  with  itself,  that  he  reached  the  depth  of  suffer 
ing  in  which  we  see  clearly;  for  there  is  no  such 
revealer  as  sorrow.  Suddenly  and  swift  as  a  flash 
of  light,  he  knew  his  past  life,  as  he  would  know 
it  in  eternity — its  selfishness,  its  cruelty,  its  injustice. 
Then  he  heard  words  which  pealed  through  his  soul, 
with  heavenly-sweet  convincingness,  and  left  their 
echo  forever  there.  For  awhile  he  remained  motion 
less  and  speechless,  and  let  the  comforting  revelation 
fill  him  with  adoring  love  and  gratitude.  And  those 
few  minutes  of  pause  and  praise  were  not  only  sacri 
ficial  and  sacramental,  they  were  strong  with  absolu 
tion.  He  knew  what  he  must  do;  he  had  not  a 
doubt,  not  a  reservation  of  any  kind.  In  a  space 
of  time  so  short  that  we  have  no  measure  for  it, 
he  had  surrendered  everything,  and  been  made 
worthy  to  receive  everything. 

O,  Mystery  of  Life,  from  what  a  depth  proceed 
thy  comforts  and  thy  lessons !  Even  the  chance  ac 
quaintance  had  had  his  meaning,  and  had  done  his 
work.  Robert  had  some  wonderful  confidences  with 
him,  as  he  lay  for  a  week  free  of  pain,  and  quietly 
gathering  strength  for  the  journey  he  must  take  the 
moment  he  was  able  for  it.  He  had  no  hesitation 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  375 

as  to  this  journey.  He  knew  that  he  must  go  back 
to  Theodora — back  to  the  same  goal  he  had  turned 
away  from.  Peradventure  the  blessing  he  had  re 
jected  might  yet  be  waiting  there. 

In  ten  days  Dr.  Stuart  permitted  him  to  travel, 
and  without  pause  or  regret  he  reached  San  Fran 
cisco,  refreshed  himself,  and  taking  a  carriage  drove 
out  to  the  Newtons'.  It  was  afternoon  when  he 
reached  the  place,  and  it  had  the  drowsy  afternoon 
look  and  feeling.  He  sent  the  carriage  to  the  stable, 
and  told  the  driver  to  wait  there  for  further  orders 
— and  then  walked  up  to  the  house.  As  he  passed 
Mr.  Newton's  study  he  saw  him  sitting  reading,  and 
he  opened  the  door  and  went  in.  The  preacher 
looked  up  in  astonishment,  rose  and  walked  towards 
him. 

"  Robert,"  he  said  softly,  "  is  that  you?  " 
"  Yes,  father.     I  have  been  very  ill.     I  have  come 
back  to  ask  your  forgiveness — and  hers — if  she  will 
listen  to  me." 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  Sit  down.  You  look 
ill — what  can  I  do  for  you?" 

"  Listen  to  me!  I  will  tell  you  all." 
Then  he  opened  his  heart  freely  to  the  preacher, 
who  listened  with  intense  sympathy  and  understand 
ing — sometimes  speaking  a  word  of  encouragement, 
sometimes  only  touching  his  hand,  or  whispering, 
"  Go  on,  Robert."  And  perhaps  there  was  not  an 
other  man  in  California,  so  able  to  comprehend  the 
marvellous  story  of  Robert's  return  unto  his  better 
self.  For  he  had  in  a  large  measure  that  penetrative 


376  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

insight  into  spiritualities,  which  connect  man  with  the 
unseen  world;  and  that  mystical,  incommunicable 
sense  of  a  life,  that  is  not  this  life.  He  knew  its 
voices,  intuitions,  and  celestial  intimations — things, 
which  no  one  knoweth,  save  they  who  receive  them. 
And  when  Robert  had  finished  his  confession,  he 
said: 

"  I  also,  Robert,  have  stood  on  that  shining  table 
land  which  lies  on  the  frontier  of  our  consciousness; 
and  there  received  that  blessed  certainty  of  God 
which  can  never  again  leave  the  soul.  And  you  must 
not  wonder  at  the  suddenness  and  rapidity  of  the 
vision.  Every  experience  of  this  kind  must  be 
sharply  sudden.  That  chasm  dividing  the  seen  from 
the  unseen,  must  be  taken  at  one  swift  bound,  or  not 
at  all.  You  cannot  break  that  leap.  Thank  God, 
you  have  taken  it!  This  remembrance,  and  the 
power  it  has  left  behind,  can  never  depart  from  you ; 
for 

'  Whoso  has  felt  the  Spirit  of  the  Highest, 

Cannot  confound,  nor  doubt  Him,  nor  deny.' 

\ 

The  whole  world  may  deny,  but  what  is  the  voice 
of  the  whole  world  to  those,  who  have  seen  and 
heard  and  known 

'A  deep  below  the  deep, 

And  a  height  beyond  the  height, 
Where  our  hearing  is  not  hearing, 
And  our  seeing  is  not  sight '  ? 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  377 

What  you  have  told  me,  Robert,  also  goes  to  con 
firm  what  I  have  before  noticed — that  this  great 
favor  of  vision  is  usually  the  cup  of  strength,  given 
to  us  in  some  great  agony  or  strait." 

"  Now,  father,  may  I  see  Theodora?  " 

"  She  went  to  her  room  to  rest  after  our  early 
dinner.  She  also  has  suffered." 

"  She  is  in  the  parlor.  I  hear  her  singing.  Let 
us  go  to  her." 

At  the  parlor  door  they  stood  a  minute  and  listened 
to  the  music.  It  was  strong  and  clear,  and  her  voice 
held  both  the  sorrow  and  the  hope  that  was  in  her 
heart : 

"My  heart  is  dashed  with  cares  and  fears, 

My  song  comes  fluttering  and  is  gone, 
But  high  above  this  home  of  tears 
Eternal  Joy  sings  on — sings  on!  " 

The  last  strain  was  a  triumphant  one,  and  to  its 
joy  they  entered.  Then  Theodora's  face  was  trans 
figured,  she  came  swiftly  towards  them,  and  Mr. 
Newton  laid  her  hand  in  Robert's  hand,  and  so  left 
them.  And  into  the  love  and  wonder  and  thanks 
giving  of  that  conversation  we  cannot  enter;  no, 
not  even  with  the  sweetest  and  clearest  imagination. 
In  a  couple  of  hours  David  came,  and  Robert 
joined  his  father  and  brother,  and  Theodora  went  to 
assist  her  mother  in  preparing  the  evening  meal.  She 
found  her  standing  by  an  open  window,  wringing  her 
thin,  small  hands,  and  silently  weeping. 


378  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Mother,  mother!  "  cried  Theodora,  clasping  her 
in  her  strong  arms;  "  why  are  you  weeping?  " 

"  It  is  that  man  here  again,"  Mrs.  Newton  fal 
tered.  "  I  thought  that  trouble  was  over.  I  can 
bear  no  more  of  it,  dear." 

"  He  will  never  give  you  another  moment's  grief, 
dear  mother.  He  is  totally  changed.  He  has  had 
an  experience;  he  has  been  what  we  call — converted 
^-mother." 

"  Do  you  believe  that?  " 

"  With  all  my  soul!  He  has  given  up  everything 
that  made  sin  and  trouble." 

"  Then  all  is  well.     I  am  satisfied." 

"  Robert  will  not  be  happy  until  you  have  wel 
comed  him." 

"  Then  I  will  go  and  do  so." 

That  evening  as  they  sat  together  David  said: 
"  Father  and  mother,  I  wish  to  speak  for  my  brother 
and  myself.  We  are  going  into  a  business  partner 
ship,  as  soon  as  Robert  has  been  to  Glasgow,  and 
turned  all  his  property  into  cash.  Whatever  he  is 
worth,  I  will  double,  and  '  Campbell  Brothers, 
Bankers,'  I  believe,  will  soon  become  an  important 
factor  in  the  financial  world  of  San  Francisco." 

"  It  is  a  good  thing,  David.  You  two  working  as 
one  will  be  a  multitude.  No  one  knows  the  financial 
conditions  here  better  than  you  do,  David,  and  as 
an  investor,  I  do  not  believe  you  have  ever  made  a 
mistake." 

"  I  think  not,  father.  Well,  then,  we  will  all  go 
into  San  Francisco  as  soon  as  Robert  has  rested  a 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  379 

little,  and  select  a  home  for  him.  I  know  of  two 
houses  for  sale,  either  of  which  would  be  suitable." 

"  And  when  the  house  is  chosen,"  said  Robert,  "  I 
hope,  mother,  you  will  assist  Theodora  in  furnishing 
it  just  as  she  wishes,  keeping  her  in  mind,  however, 
that  she  must  be  quite  extravagant.  Simplicity  and 
economy  are  out  of  place  in  a  banker's  home,  for 
entertaining  on  a  large  scale  will  have  to  be  done." 

It  was  arranged  that  David  should  go  East  with 
Robert,  and  see  him  safely  on  board  a  good  liner, 
and  the  details  of  these  projects  occupied  the  family 
happily  for  three  days;  at  the  end  of  which  they 
went  to  San  Francisco.  When  Theodora's  future 
home  had  been  selected,  David  and  Robert  took  the 
train  for  New  York;  the  whole  family  sending  them 
off  with  smiles  and  blessings.  And  Robert  thought 
of  his  previous  leaving,  and  was  unspeakably  happy 
and  grateful. 

On  their  journey  to  New  York,  the  brothers  settled 
every  detail  of  their  banking  business,  and  Robert 
was  amazed  at  his  brother's  financial  instinct  and 
business  enterprise.  "  We  shall  make  a  great  deal 
of  money,  Robert,"  he  said,  "  and  we  must  do  a 
great  deal  of  good  with  it.  I  have  some  ideas  on 
that  subject  which  we  will  talk  over  at  the  proper 
time." 

So  the  journey  was  not  tiresome,  and  when  it  was 
over,  both  were  a  little  sorry.  But  work  was  to  do, 
and  Robert  knew  that  he  would  be  restless  until  he 
had  finished  his  preparations  for  his  new  life,  and 
got  rid  of  all  encumbrances  of  the  past. 


380  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

The  sea  journey  was  short  and  pleasant,  and  it 
removed  the  most  evident  traces  of  his  illness.  His 
face  was  thinner,  but  that  was  an  improvement;  and 
his  figure,  if  more  slender  was  more  active,  and  there 
was  about  him  the  light  and  aura  of  one  who  is  thor 
oughly  happy,  and  at  peace  with  God  and  man. 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  in  Glasgow,  he  went  to 
his  club,  and  looked  over  the  accumulation  of  letters 
waiting  him.  It  was  raining  steadily — that  summer 
rain  which  we  feel  to  be  so  particularly  unwanted. 
The  streets  were  sloppy,  the  air  damp,  the  sky  dull, 
and  not  brightened  by  the  occasional  glints  of  pale 
sunshine;  but  when  he  had  relieved  his  mind  of  its 
most  pressing  business,  he  went  to  Traquair  House. 
Jepson  opened  the  door  for  him,  but  the  man  looked 
ill,  and  said  he  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  Glasgow. 
Robert  could  now  sympathize  with  him,  for  he  had 
learned  the  agony  of  constant  headache,  and  he  said 
so.  The  man  looked  at  him  in  amazement,  and  he 
told  McNab  of  the  circumstance,  adding:  "  The  mas 
ter  was  never  so  kind  to  me  in  all  his  life,  as  he 
was  to-day."  McNab  answered  curtly : 

"  No  wonder !  He  has  been  living  wi'  decent  folk 
lately,  and  decency  tells.  Them  Californians  are 
the  civilest  o'  mortals.  You'll  mind  my  ain  lad,  that 
was  here  about  four  years  syne  ?  " 

"  I'll  never  forget  him,  Mistress  McNab.  A  per 
fect  gentleman." 

11  Weel,  he  was,  in  a  way,  a  Californian — born,  of 
course,  in  Scotland,  but  knocked  about  among  the 
Californians,  until  he  learned  how  to  behave  himsel' 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  381 

to  rich  and  poor  and  auld  and  young,  and  special  to 
women  and  bairns." 

While  this  conversation  was  going  on  Robert  sat 
in  the  old  dining-room.  It  was  dismal  enough  at  all 
times,  especially  so  in  rainy  weather,  and  more  spe 
cially  so  when  it  was  summer  rain,  and  no  blazing 
fire  brightened  the  dark  mahogany  and  the  crimson 
draperies. 

His  mother  was  at  home,  but  he  was  told  Chris 
tina  was  occupying  the  little  villa  he  had  bought  at 
Inverkip.  He  had  not  been  asked  for  its  use,  and 
it  contained  a  good  deal  of  Theodora's  needlework, 
and  much  summer  clothing.  For  a  few  minutes  he 
was  angry,  but  he  quickly  reasoned  his  anger  away. 
"  There  are  no  happy  memories  about  any  of  the 
things.  It  is  better  they  should  not  come  into  our 
future  life,"  he  said  to  himself.  He  wondered  his 
mother  did  not  come,  and  asked  Jepson  if  she  had 
been  told.  "  Yes,  she  had  been  told,  and  had  sent 
word  '  she  would  be  down  as  soon  as  dressed.' ' 

It  was  an  hour  before  she  was  dressed,  and  Robert 
felt  the  gloom  and  chill  of  waiting.  Indeed,  he 
was  so  uncomfortably  cold,  that  he  asked  for  a  fire, 
and  was  standing  before  it  enjoying  its  blaze  and 
warmth  when  Mrs.  Campbell  entered. 

"Good  gracious,  Robert!"  she  cried,  "a  fire  in 
August!  I  never  heard  tell  of  such  a  thing." 

"  I  am  just  from  a  warm,  sunny  country, 
mother,  and  I  have  also  been  ill,  and  so  I  feel  the 
cold." 

"  Well,  well !      Put  a  screen  between  me  and  the 


382  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

blaze.  I  am  not  auld  enou'  yet,  to  require  a  blaze 
in  August." 

"  To-morrow,  it  will  be  the  first  of  September. 
How  are  you,  mother?  " 

"  Fine.  That  foolish  fellow  you  left  over  the 
works  came  here — came  special,  mind  ye — to  tell  me 
you  were  vera  ill.  He  said  he  had  received  a  letter 
from  a  Dr.  Stuart,  living  in  a  place  called  Denver, 
saying  you  were  at  Death's  door,  or  words  to  that 
effect;  but  I  sent  him  back  to  his  proper  business 
wi'  a  solid  rebuke  for  leaving  it.  I'm  not  the  woman 
to  thank  any  one  for  bringing  me  bad  news — lies, 
too,  very  likely." 

"  No,  I  was  very  ill." 

"  Say  so,  where  was  there  any  necessity  for  the 
man  to  be  sending  word  o'  it  half  round  the  world? 
Nobody  here  could  help.  It  was  just  making  dis 
comfort  for  no  good  at  all." 

"  I  suppose  he  thought,  if  I  died,  my  friends 
might  possibly  like  to  know  what  had  become  of 
me." 

"  I  wasna  feared  for  you  dying.  Not  I !  I  knew 
Robert  Campbell  had  mair  sense  than  to  die  among 
strangers.  Then  there  was  the  works  left  to  them 
selves,  as  it  were,  and  that  weary  woman  you've 
been  seeking  mair  than  four  years,  just  found  out, 
and  I  said  to  myself,  if  I  know  Robert  Campbell, 
he  won't  be  stravaganting  to  another  world,  whilst 
his  affairs  in  this  world  are  all  helter-skelter." 

"  I  have  come  here  to  put  my  affairs  as  I  desire 
them.  Then  I  am  going  back  to  California." 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  383 

44  I  do  not  believe  you.  You  are  just  leeing  to 
me." 

"  Mother,  I  am  going  to  sell  the  works.  I  want 
to  live  in  California." 

"  To  please  Theodora,"  she  said  scornfully. 

"  To  please  Theodora  and  myself.  I  like  the  coun 
try;  it  is  sunny  and  delightful,  and  the  people  are 
wonderfully  gracious  and  kind." 

44  Of  course,  they  have  to  be  more  than  ordinary 
civil,  or  what  cjecent  people  would  live  among  the 
crowd  that  went  there?  " 

44  That  element  has  disappeared.  There  are  no 
finer  men  and  women  in  the  world  than  the  Cali- 
fornians.  I  shall  ask  for  citizenship  among  them." 

Then  the  temper  she  had  been  trying  to  control 
broke  loose,  and  carried  all  before  it.  '  You  base 
fellow !  "  she  cried,  "  you  traitor  to  all  good !  You 
are  unworthy  of  the  country,  the  home,  and  the  busi 
ness  you  desert.  I  am  ashamed  to  have  brought  you 
into  the  world.  To  surrender  everything  for  a  crea 
ture  like  your  runaway  wife  is  monstrously  wicked — 
is  incredibly  shameful !  " 

44  If  I  could  surrender  more  for  Theodora,  I  would 
gladly  do  it,  so  that  I  might  atone  for  what  I,  and 
you,  made  her  suffer.  And  she  has  not  taken  me  to 
California — you  drove  her  there." 

44  I'm  gey  glad  I  did." 

44  And  as  she  will  not  come  back  here,  I  must  go 
to  her  there.  Your  own  work,  mother." 

44  Very  good.      I  accept  it.      I'm  proud  o'  it." 

44  My  dear  mother " 


384  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Stop  palavering!     You  can  cut  out  *  dear.' ' 

"  Let  us  talk  reasonably.  I  came  here  to  ask 
whether  you  will  remain  a  shareholder  in  the  works, 
or  withdraw  your  money?  " 

"  I'll  withdraw  every  bawbee  out  o'  them.  Your 
sisters  can  do  as  they  like.  And  may  I  ask,  what 
you  are  going  to  do?  Become  a  miner,  and  carry 
a  pick  and  a  dinner-pail?  That  would  be  a  proper 
ending  for  Robert  Campbell." 

"  I  am  going  to  join  my  brother  David  in  a  bank 
ing  business  in  San  Francisco." 

"Your  brother  David!  Your  brother  David! 
So  he  is  in  California,  too?  Dod!  I  might  have 
known  it — the  very  place  for  the  like  o'  him." 

"  He  is  one  of  the  princes  of  Californian  finance. 
He  dwells  in  a  palace.  He  is  worth  many  millions 
of  dollars." 

"Dollars!"  and  she  spit  the  word  out  of  her 
mouth  with  inexpressible  scorn — "  dollars !  what  kind 
o'  money  is  that?  I  wouldn't  gie  you  a  copper  half 
penny  for  your  dollar." 

"A  dollar  is  worth  just  one  hundred  half 
pennies." 

"  I'm  not  believing  you.  Why  should  I  ?  And 
pray  how  did  you  foregather  wi'  your  runawa' 
brother?" 

"  He  is  Theodora's  neighbor,  and  she  is  educating 
his  daughters." 

"  And  pray  how  did  Dora  happen  on  your  brother? 
It  is  a  vera  singular  coincidence,  and  I  am  no  be 
liever  in  coincidences.  If  the  truth  were  known,  they 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  385 

have  all  o'  them  been  carefully  planned,  and  weel 
arranged." 

"  She  met  my  brother  here  in  Glasgow." 

"  She  did  nothing  o'  the  kind." 

"  She  met  him  at  the  Oliphants'." 

"  Oh,  oh !  I  see,  I  see !  The  dark  man  so  often 
riding  about  wi'  Mistress  Oliphant  was  your 
brother?" 

"  He  was  my  brother  David,  and  he  was  also 
McNab's  foster-son." 

"  Great  heavens !  What  a  fool  Margaret  Camp 
bell  has  been  for  once!  To  think  o'  Flora  McNab 
making  a  mock  o'  me.  She  told  me  he  was  her 
son." 

"  So  he  was,  in  a  way.  McNab  suckled  him,  and 
mothered  him,  as  well  as  she  could.  She  was  the 
only  mother  he  had." 

"  You  lie,  Robert  Campbell.     I  was  his  mother." 

"  You  ought  to  be  proud  of  it." 

"Is  his  wife  alive  or  dead?" 

"  She  is  dead.      He  will  marry  again  soon." 

"  Some  of  the  Oliphant  kin,  I  suppose?  " 

"  No.      She  is  not  a  Scotchwoman." 

"  I  hope  to  goodness  she  isn't  English." 

"  She  is  Spanish-American,  a  great  beauty,  and 
almost  as  rich  as  David  himself." 

"  Humph!  I  am  believing  no  such  fairy-tale. 
Why  would  a  rich  beauty  be  wanting  David  Camp 
bell?" 

"  David  is  a  very  handsome  man." 

"Mrs.  Oliphant  seemed  to  think  so!" 


386  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"  Every  one  thinks  so." 

"  I  hope  she  is  not  a  Methodist." 

"  She  is  a  Roman  Catholic." 

"  A  Roman  Catholic !  A  Campbell  can  get  no 
further  downward  than  that.  Your  forefathers 
fought — and,  thank  God,  mostly  killed — a  Roman 
Catholic  on  sight.  Ah  weel,  I  suppose  it  is  the 
money." 

"  Oh,  no!      David  would  not  marry  for  money." 

"  He  didn't  anyhow.  He  married  a  poor,  plain, 
beggarly  sewing-girl." 

"  She  was  a  minister's  daughter,  and  he  loved  her." 

"  Weel,  Robert  Campbell,  I  hope  you  have 
emptied  your  creel  o'  bad  news.  If  you  have  any 
more  tak'  it  back  to  where  it  came  from.  I'll  not 
listen  to  another  word  from  you." 

"  I  must  ask  you,  what  you  wish  about  this  house? 
If  you  desire  to  remain  here,  I  will  not  sell  it." 

"  I'll  not  stop  in  it,  any  longer  than  it  takes  me  to 
move  out  o'  it.  You  are  no  kin  to  me  now,  and 
thank  God,  I  am  not  come  to  a  dependence  on  a 
Scotch  turncoat,  or  even  an  American  citizen!" 

"  Do  you  think  Christina  would  like  the  use  o' 
it?  " 

"  Christina  is  doing  better.      Rathey  is  going  to 
be  man-of-law  and  private  secretary  to  Sir  Thomas, 
and  they  are  to  have  the  Wynton  Dower  House  to 
live  in,  a  handsome  place  in  a  big  garden." 
'Will  you  go  with  her,  mother?  " 

"  It  is  none  of  your  business  where  I  go.  I  would 
not  ask  a  shelter  from  you,  if  I  were  going  to  the 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  387 

poor-house.  I  am  going  where  I'll  be  rid  of  whim 
pering  wives,  and  whining  bairns,  and  fleeching,  flat 
tering  folk,  who  want  siller  for  their  fine  words. 
I'm  done  with  the  old,  unhappy  house.  Sell  it  as 
soon  as  you  like.  It  was  an  ill  day  when  I  stepped 
o'er  its  threshold." 

"  Then  good-bye,  mother.  Say  a  kind  word  to 
me.  We  may  meet  no  more  in  this  world."  He 
advanced  towards  her  and  put  out  his  hand. 

She  rose  and  lifted  her  solitaire  pack  of  cards — 
which  was  lying  on  the  table  by  which  she  stood — 
and  began  shuffling  them  in  her  hands.  "  You  un 
grateful  son  of  your  mother  Scotland  and  your 
mother  Campbell!"  she  cried.  "You  traitor  to 
every  obligation  due  your  family!  You  slave  to  a 
Methodist  wife,  go  to  your  Papist-loving  brother. 
California  is  a  proper  home  for  you.  Dod!  I  am 
sick  of  the  whole  lot  o'  you — lads  and  lassies  baith 
— Isabel  is  o'er  much  '  my  lady  '  for  any  sensible 
body  to  thole;  and  Christina  is  aye  sniffling  and 
worrying  about  her  bairns,  or  her  silly,  fiddling  hus 
band.  I  am  sick,  tired — heart  and  soul  tired — o' 
the  serpent  brood  o'  you  Campbells;  and  you  may 
scatter  yoursel's  o'er  the  face  o'  the  whole  earth,  for 
aught  I  care,"  and  with  these  words  she  flung  the 
cards  in  her  hand  far  and  wide,  over  the  large  room. 
She  was  in  an  incredible  passion,  and  Robert  put 
his  hand  on  her  arms,  crying  in  terror  and  amaze 
ment: 

"  Mother!  Mother!  Mother!  For  God's  sake  I 
entreat " 


388  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

"Out  o'  my  sight  instanter!"  she  answered. 
"  Scotland  and  Margaret  Campbell  is  weel  rid  o' 
the  like  o'  you."  She  shook  off  his  restraining  hands, 
and  clasping  her  own  behind  her  back,  she  went  to 
a  window  and  stood  there  looking  far  over  the  dull, 
wet  street  to  some  vision  conjured  up  by  her  raging, 
scornful  passion. 

Robert  again  approached  her.  "  I  am  going, 
mother,"  he  said.  "  God  forgive  us  both !  Fare 
well  !  "  and  he  once  more  offered  her  a  pleading 
hand.  She  looked  at  it  a  moment,  but  kept  her  own 
resolutely  clasped  behind  her,  and  finally  with  an 
imperative  motion  uttered  one  fierce  word: 

"Go!" 

She  was  still  at  the  window  when  he  reached  the 
sidewalk,  and  he  raised  his  hat,  and  looked  at  her 
as  he  passed.  But  her  gaze  was  intentionally  far 
off,  and  if  she  saw  this  last  act  of  entreaty,  she  was 
beyond  the  wish,  or  even  the  ability  to  notice  it. 

Robert  was  very  miserable,  so  much  so  that  he 
forgot  to  write  to  Theodora,  and  when  he  awoke 
after  a  restless  night  and  remembered  the  omission 
he  said  with  a  sigh:  "Theodora  is  right.  It  must 
be  everything  or  nothing.  If  I  could  get  her  to 
come  back  here,  it  would  be  the  old  trouble  over 
again — and  worse." 

That  day  he  went  to  the  Wyntons',  and  talked 
with  Sir  Thomas  about  the  sale  of  the  works.  He 
was  in  hopes  that  he  could  form  a  syndicate,  buy 
the  works,  and  make  himself  president.  And  at 
first  the  baronet  was  enthusiastic  about  the  scheme, 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  389 

but  day  after  day,  and  week  after  week  went  on, 
and  nothing  definite  was  arrived  at.  Isabel  had 
strong  family  feeling,  and  she  was  sullenly  silent 
about  the  sale  of  the  furnaces,  and  her  brother's 
settlement  in  America.  The  works  had  done  so  well 
under  Robert's  direction,  that  her  income  had  been 
nearly  doubled,  and  she  thought  that  he  ought  to 
continue  his  labor,  where  Providence  had  enabled  him 
to  do  so  well  for  the  family.  Finally,  Robert  aban 
doned  the  Wynton  scheme,  and  went  to  Sheffield  to 
see  his  old  business  friend  Priestley.  The  visit  was 
destined  and  propitious,  and  in  three  weeks  the  trans 
fer  of  the  Campbell  Iron  Works  to  a  Yorkshire  iron 
company  was  completed,  and  Robert  was  ready  to 
return  home. 

He  was  glad  of  it.  His  visit  had  been  a  painful 
and  separating  one.  His  sisters  had  disappointed 
him.  He  was  sure  Isabel  had  prevented  her  hus 
band's  desire  to  buy  the  works,  and  she  had  let  him 
feel,  in  her  cold,  silent  way,  that  she  disapproved  of 
his  selling  them,  and  still  more  disapproved  of  his 
settlement  in  America.  And  the  selfish  little  soul 
of  Christina  complained  constantly  of  Robert  leaving 
her  money  in  strange  hands.  She  thought  it  was 
his  duty  to  stay  in  Glasgow  and  manage  the  works 
for  his  mother's  and  sisters'  benefit;  and  when  the 
sisters  talked  of  the  matter  together,  they  expressed 
themselves  very  plainly  about  that  "  Englishwoman 
who  had  been  so  unfortunate  to  their  house." 

Robert  went  from  Sheffield  to  Liverpool,  and  did 
not  return  to  Glasgow.  He  was  glad  and  grateful 


390  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

to  set  his  face  westward  and  homeward.  Nothing 
of  importance  happened  on  the  journey,  and  when 
he  reached  San  Francisco  his  brother  David  was  wait 
ing  at  the  railway  depot  to  welcome  him.  They 
clasped  hands  and  looked  into  each  other's  eyes, 
and  everything  was  well  said  that  words  would  have 
said  clumsily.  It  was  then  nearly  dark,  and  they 
went  to  the  hotel  for  the  night.  Far  into  the  mid 
night  hours  they  sat  discussing  their  business  future, 
and  David  was  astonished  at  the  fortune  which  Rob 
ert  had  made  out  of  the  old  works.  And  Robert 
was  still  more  astonished  at  the  fortune  which  his 
brother  had  made  out  of  his  relatively  small  capital, 
and  his  own  business  sagacity  and  native  industry 
and  prudence. 

In  the  early  morning  David  wished  his  brother 
to  go  and  look  over  the  new  home  which  Theodora 
had  been  preparing,  but  Robert  said  he  wanted  to 
see  Theodora  above  all  things,  and  would  go  at  once 
out  to  the  Newtons'. 

"  Very  good,"  replied  David,  "  then  you  will  go 
alone,  for  I  am  to  bring  Mercedes  with  me,  and  I 
cannot  call  for  her  before  ten.  It  is  a  charming 
thing,  Robert,  that  Mercedes  and  Theodora  love 
each  other  dearly.  They  have  worked  together  con 
stantly  over  your  new  home,  and  made  it  a  lovely 
place.  I  suppose  you  will  be  married  this  after 
noon." 

"Married!  Married!  Does  Theodora  expect 
it?" 

"  I  think  all  preparations  are  made  for  the  little 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  391 

ceremony.  I  would  not  disapprove,  if  I  were  you, 
Robert." 

"  Disapprove!  What  do  you  mean?  I  shall  be 
the  most  joyful  man  in  the  world." 

Breakfast  was  scarcely  over  when  Robert  reached 
Newton  Place;  and  Theodora  came  running  to  meet 
him  with  a  large  apron  over  her  pretty  white 
dress.  But  oh,  how  beautiful  was  her  beaming, 
smiling  face,  how  tender  her  embrace,  how  sweet  the 
loving  words  with  which  she  welcomed  him.  He 
was  paid,  and  overpaid,  for  all  he  had  suffered,  and 
all  he  had  resigned. 

"  We  shall  be  married  this  afternoon,  eh  darling?  " 
he  asked. 

"  All  shall  be  as  you  wish,  my  love.  I  am  ready," 
she  answered. 

Such  a  delightful  morning!  Such  a  happy  hurry 
in  the  house !  Such  sweet  laughter,  and  pleasant 
calling  of  each  other's  names !  Such  enthusiasm  over 
Mercedes'  beauty  in  her  pink  satin  costume!  Such 
an  enjoyable  little  lunch  at  one  o'clock!  Such  a 
bewildering  number  of  pleasant  events  crowded  into 
a  few  hours.  If  ever  there  was  in  any  earthly  home 
a  sense  of  heavenly  love  and  joy,  it  was  in  the  New 
ton  house  that  day.  Angels  might — and  probably 
did — rest  in  the  flower-scented  atmosphere  of  its  spot 
less  rooms,  for  if  angels  rejoice  with  the  sinner  for 
given  and  accepted,  surely  still  more  will  they  rejoice 
in  the  fruition  of  tried  and  accepted  love,  and  in  the 
unselfish  affection  of  those  who  rejoice,  because  others 
rejoice. 


392  A  Reconstructed  Marriage 

Just  before  three  o'clock  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newton 
went  together  to  the  parlor  and  sat  down  by  a  small 
table  covered  with  a  white  cloth,  on  which  there  lay 
a  Bible  and  a  Book  of  Common  Prayer.  A  few 
minutes  later  David  and  Robert  came  in,  and  stood 
talking  to  them,  until  the  door  opened  and  Theo 
dora  and  Mercedes  entered.  Then  Mr.  Newton 
stood  up,  and  Robert  and  Theodora  stood  before 
him,  and  renewed  their  marriage  vows  in  the  most 
solemn  and  simple  manner.  There  were  no  decora 
tions,  no  music,  no  attendants,  no  company,  nothing 
but  a  prayer,  and  the  old,  old  ritual  of  a  thousand 
years.  But  after  it  Mr.  Newton  told  them  in  a 
few  sentences,  how  supremely  important  love  is  to 
the  soul. 

"  It  perishes  without  love,"  he  said.  "  To  the 
soul  love  is  blessing,  love  is  salvation,  love  is  the 
guardian  angel,  and  without  love  the  centrifugal  law 
easily  overpowers  and  sweeps  it  far  out  from  its 
divine  source,  towards  the  cold  frontiers  of  the  ma 
terial  and  the  manifold." 

Then  there  was  a  tender  and  cheerful  good-bye, 
and  Robert  and  Theodora  went  to  their  new  home. 
They  wandered  hand  in  hand  through  all  its  beau 
tiful  rooms,  and  through  the  scented  walks  of  its  fair 
garden,  and  Robert  said :  "  It  is  a  palace  in  Paradise, 
darling." 

"  And  I  am  so  happy !  So  proud,  and  so  happy, 
dear  Robert!  "  she  answered. 

After  a  perfect  dinner  at  their  own  table,  Robert 
went  to  his  wife's  parlor  to  smoke  his  cigar,  and 


A  Reconstructed  Marriage  393 

then  he  told  her  all  about  his  last  unhappy  visit  to 
his  family,  and  his  native  land. 

It  was  the  necessary  minor  note  in  their  joyful 
wedding  song,  but  it  soon  returned  to  its  triumphant 
dominant,  since  they  must  needs  rejoice  in  that  loving 
Power  which  had  so  surely  "  tempered  all  things 
well," 

"  Had  worked  their  -pleasure  out  of  pain, 
And  out  of  ruin  golden  gain." 

And  as  they  talked  in  the  splendid  room,  with  its 
sweet  odors  and  dim  light,  their  voices  grew  lower, 
and  they  were  content  to  whisper  each  other's  names, 
and  fall  into  sweet  silences,  thrilled  with  such  soft 
stir,  as  angels  in  their  cloud-girt  wayfarings  know, 
when  they  "  feel  the  breath  of  kindred  plumes." 
And  thus, 

"  The  tumult  of  the  time  disconsolate. 
To  inarticulate  murmurs  died  away." 


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